What the Bartender Says
5 Tips & Tricks to Elevate Your Cocktails
From using crystal clear ice, to serving up the freshest garnishes, find out how you can take your cocktail-making skills to the next level
Make your cocktails irresistible
Making exquisite cocktails that tantalize the senses is an art. It requires keen attention to detail to ensure measurements are spot-on, garnishes and ice are well utilized, and the glassware used is both aesthetic and suitable. Getting all of this right isn’t always easy, but it can make a world of difference to the outcome of your cocktails. To help your future mixology exploits, here are five tips and tricks to elevate your cocktails.
Tip one
How to keep your garnish fresh
The steps you can take to keep garnishes fresh for longer, helping your lemon peel on the rim of your RIEDEL Drink Specific Glassware Sour Glass look the business, are as follows:
- Keep them cool. This may seem obvious to some readers, but it’s important to emphasize that garnishes will last much longer when kept cool. Whether you have a compartment for fruit and herbs in your refrigerator or a separate cooler box that you use, a cool environment can help your garnishes to last several times longer than when stored at room temperature.
- Store herbs in water. If, like many people, you buy freshly packed herbs that eventually go off, you can prolong their freshness with water. Simply place your herb's stems in water in a reusable box or container, cover the leaves loosely, and refrigerate it. Change the water every couple of days, and your herbs can stay fresh for up to twice as long as they would last without water.
- Use airtight containers. Garnishes like citrus lose freshness quickly once you’ve sliced them to add to your beverages. To help them slices stay fresh for longer for later use, you can store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator. The reduced oxygen exposure slows down the rate at which the garnish spoils, while airtight containers also help them retain their natural moisture, preventing them from drying out too quickly.
Tip two
How to make clear ice cubes
Ice can help to elevate numerous beverages, but all too often, it has a cloudy consistency. While this won't ruin your drink, there's no matching the magic of a crystal-clear ice cube. Clear ice also melts more slowly than cloudy ice thanks to its denser structure, keeping your drinks colder for longer without diluting them as quickly. So, how do you go about achieving perfectly clear ice?
Use filtered or distilled water
Most people just use tap water to make ice cubes. Often, tap water contains a lot of minerals (particularly if you live somewhere with hard water), which creates that cloudy look in your ice when you freeze it. Filtered and distilled water contains fewer impurities, resulting in more transparent ice when frozen. It won't necessarily give you perfectly clear ice, but it should make a noticeable difference compared to using tap water.
There are several ways to make your own filtered or distilled water. Consider installing water filter or distillation units in your house, using under-sink or countertop filters, or using water filter pitchers to purify regular tap water after pouring.
Use directional freezing
Directional freezing is a method for creating crystal-clear ice by controlling the direction in which water freezes. Don't worry—it's easier than it sounds.
Regular freezing causes water to freeze inwards from all directions. This process pushes the minerals inwards, resulting in a cloudy complexion that can dull your cocktails. Directional freezing fixes this by freezing ice from one direction. This pushes minerals and impurities out of the top layer of ice, leaving you with crystal-clear ice cubes to enjoy.
Sounds great, but how do you do it? The simplest way to perform directional freezing is to use an open, insulated container. The container's insulating material will cause the water to freeze from the top, pushing the minerals downwards. This will result in roughly 75% of the ice being clear and ever so aesthetic for your cocktails, while you can then carefully cut away the cloudy bottom section. Another directional freezing method is to use certain types of silicone ice cube molds, while some ice-maker machines also use directional freezing to produce clear ice. Get your directional freezing approach right, and watch your cocktails served over ice in your RIEDEL Drink Specific Glassware Rocks Glass and RIEDEL Drink Specific Glassware Highball Glass soar.
Tip three
How to decorate cocktails with ice
It's one thing to add ice to your cocktails to chill your beverage and add a bit of sparkle, but you can take things even further by using your ice as a decorative piece. A few ways you can spruce up your ice cubes to add some extra charm to your cocktails include:
- Using different shape molds. This is a handy approach to take during specific celebrations throughout the year, where the shape of the ice can reflect the event or festival you're celebrating.
- Freezing garnishes within your ice. By putting some cocktail-appropriate garnish into your ice cube mold with your water, you get the ultimate two-for-one for your cocktail. Whether you're freezing strawberries for your summer Pimms or fresh ginger for a winter punch bowl, this approach can add style and fun to your cocktail-making process.
- Mixing up your sizes. Different ice sizes suit different cocktails, both for practical and aesthetic reasons. For a classic Old Fashioned cocktail, you might opt for a single large ice cube that dilutes slowly and stirs easily. On the other hand, you might decide that your Mai Tai suits a large pile of pebble ice that you can neatly place your mint sprigs in. Whatever your preferences are, our RIEDEL Drink Specific Glassware Rocks Glass and RIEDEL Drink Specific Glassware Double Rocks Glass glasses are specially designed to accommodate large-format ice, giving you the luxury of choosing which ice suits your drinks best.
Tip four
How to make and use a cocktail shrub
- Select a vinegar that will add flavor and character to your shrub. Opt for styles like cider vinegar, wine vinegars, rice vinegar, and balsamic vinegar, rather than distilled vinegar. You can even make your own vinegar from spent wines or ciders if you wish! When deciding on the vinegar you'll use, consider what fruits and spices you'll include in your shrub and choose a vinegar to match this. For example, white wine vinegar pairs well with various berries, whereas apple cider vinegar goes well with spices like star anise and cinnamon.
- Make your syrup. You can do this using cold or hot methods. The cold method, which suits fresh fruit, involves macerating chopped fruit in an equal weight of sugar. Leave at room temperature for 1-2 days in a covered bowl or jar, stirring occasionally, while the sugar draws out the juices from the fruit to create a syrup. The hot method, which can be beneficial in releasing the heat from spices, involves warming your spices, sugar, and fruit over a hob until the sugar has dissolved. While this method is quicker and useful for spices, it can cause some fruit to lose flavor and develop bitterness.
- Combine your syrup and vinegar. Once your syrup is ready, strain it into a clean jar and add your vinegar. A 50/50 split is typically used, but you can alter this depending on your taste preferences. Allow the mixture to cool, add any herbs you wish to include, seal the jar, and refrigerate for 3-7 days, shaking the shrub daily. Once done, strain one last time to ensure you have as clean and pure a mixture as possible.
Your shrub should last for several weeks or even months if kept refrigerated. During this time, you can enjoy your shrub with your cocktail of choice! You only need 1-2 tablespoons of shrub per glass of mixer, so shrub-based drinks are best enjoyed from highball-style glasses, such as our RIEDEL Drink Specific Glassware Highball Glass or our RIEDEL Laudon Highball - red.
Tip five
How to choose the correct glassware for each cocktail
- Boosting its aesthetic. One of the functions of a cocktail glass is to accommodate the volume of its intended cocktails. A low-volume, spirit-forward cocktail looks lost in a highball glass, while a neat glass doesn't offer the capacity required for high-volume cocktails. By choosing a cocktail glass that suits the size of the cocktails you plan to make, you help make your creations look the part.
- Accommodating essential elements. Certain drinks include features that demand a specific size or shape from the glass they’re served in. For example, the glasses from our Grape@RIEDEL collection are designed to accommodate vibrant cocktails served with ice, while our RIEDEL Laudon Tumblers are designed to accommodate various classic cocktails served over ice.
- Helping to develop your drink's flavors. For some cocktails, the right cocktail glass can help to develop and capture its flavors or even improve the smoothness of each sip. For example, the RIEDEL Drink Specific Glassware Sour Glass Glass was designed with an outward-flared lip to deliver the silky smoothness of sour cocktails to the entire palate for a perfect balance of flavor. Meanwhile, the RIEDEL Drink Specific Glassware Fizz Glass is specially designed with high, vertical sides to create the ‘push-pop’ effect that cocktail lovers expect from their gin fizz.
To choose the right glassware for your cocktails, always pay attention to the name of the glass – certain examples, such as our RIEDEL Drink Specific Glassware Sour Glass, include the cocktails they’re made for in their name. If it’s not immediately obvious which glass you should use, consider the volume of the cocktails you’re making and opt for a glass that best matches those requirements.
For more details on the importance of using specific glassware for cocktails, see our spirit and cocktail glasses blog.
With those five tips, you can elevate the mixed drinks you serve up to your guests, whether it’s during a summer barbecue using your Grape@RIEDEL Collection or during a Friday evening get-together using your RIEDEL Laudon Tumblers, or a midweek afternoon mocktail. Try out our 5 tips and tricks and enjoy your cocktails.
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