Glassful Of Art- Femina

Making the perfect cocktail requires talent, immense knowledge of spirits and beverages and great love for the drink, says Cocktail Shaker, David Miles

O, you asked for the same cocktail, second time in the week! You had loved the concoction the first time - in fact, it had then tasted like angels dancing in your mouth! Pining for the same feeling, you sipped your first mouthful. And, to your utter disappointment, this time around, the cocktail tasted different and not quite as heavenly! In fact, you even did a quick mental check of all the ingredients. Everything was intact, to the last bit. Been there before?

Well... cocktail making is indeed an art and there are certain rules to make the right cocktail. Here they are...

The Perfect One
Remember: Freshness and balance are the operative words.
Freshness: Always use fresh fruits, juices and creams, while making your drink. Your cocktail will taste a great deal better and what's more, it will stir and wake up your taste buds.
Balance: Strike the right balance between the strong and the weak ingredients and between sweet and sour. For eg, while using gin and tonic, excess or less of either will spoil the overall taste. Similarly, the use of sugar, syrup or crème liquids should be complemented with citrus syrups.
The perfect cocktail is one that has balance of all flavours.

Mix 'N' Match

• Equip yourself with techniques of mixing and use each depending on what you want.

• Building: Fill the glass with the recommended amount of ice, simply pour in the ingredients, give a quick stir and serve.

• Shaking: Pour the ingredients into a shaker, add the ice and 'shake' - meaning, shake it vigorously, not jangle it gently. You can then strain the cocktail to leave the ice behind.

• Stirring: Like the name suggests, simply stir the ingredients with ice in a mixing glass. This works for drinks you do not like to dilute too much with ice. For eg, The Martini.

• Blending: When you have fruits and other ingredients you want to blend well into your drink, this is the technique to be used. Place them in a blender along with the ice and mix.

• Layering: No shaking, no stirring. Simply layering! The idea is to get one liquid floating on top of another without mixing them. Very often, the flat end of the bar spoon is used to control the flow, if necessary.

Let The Spirits Flow

• Gin: One of the greatest cocktail ingredients because of the distinct flavour of herbs and spices that it is normally made from.

• Vodka: Vodka is used largely, mainly because it blends well with most other ingredients. Normally, vodka, by itself, has no colour, odour or taste

• Rum: Strength is its quality. Rum has an inherent sweetness that gels well with several ingredients and makes great cocktails.

• Tequila: For good Margaritas, tequila is a must.

• Whisky: Only bourbons make good cocktails. Scotch has distinct tastes and do not blend well with any other flavour. However, Rusty Nail, a popular cocktail, is made by blending Scotch whisky with Drambuie.

• Champagne: You can make a whole lot of varieties of cocktails with champagne, since champagne ranges in flavour - from sweet to dry.

Cocktail Equipment

• Cocktail Shaker: Choose from a Classic (strainer attached) or a Boston Shaker (half stainless steel, half glass). While both are good for mixing cocktails, the Boston shaker gives you more room to mix your drink, though you will need a separate strainer.

• Jigger: To measure the ingredients before pouring them onto a shaker/glass.

• Strainer: A must, it you aren't using a shaker that has one attached.

• Pourer: A rubber stopper with a pouring spout to enable the accuracy of pouring the liquid from the bottle.

• Ice Crusher: Crushes ice. (What else!) You can pick a manual or an electronic one.

• Bar Spoon: Used for stirring the cocktail, it has a spiral handle with a flat end, normally.

• Glassware: Some popular ones are:

• Classic Martini Glass - for cocktails without ice; Shot Glass - to hold just a shot of the spirit, to be gulped down; High Ball or Tom Collins Glass - a versatile glass, used for long ice filled drinks, Champagne Flute - the tall elegant glass used for champagne and champagne cocktails. Is perfect to keep the sparkle in the glass; and Hurricane Glass - often used for frozen and blended drinks.

Okay, there we are! So, when is the party?

Cocktail Wisdom

• Cocktails should always be served in smaller glasses. Two small glasses are always better than one large one. If there's too much at a time, it loses its appeal.

• When you make a drink, don't shy away from tasting it before offering it to your guest. Tasting is essential, especially when certain delicate balancing is required.

• Never serve a cocktail with the ice that was used to shake it. Strain the ice away after shaking and use fresh ice before serving. Enhances the taste!

• Keep the garnishes as simple as possible. At the same time, the garnishing should say everything possible about a drink without dominating it.

• Remember the bar is a stage and you are the star. Ambience and quality drinks matter, but it's you who make it all work!

As told to Usha Mani