If you want to learn how to mix drinks like a pro, you probably don't want to do what many people do to break into the bar business. They find a bar where the bartenders knew what they were doing, and become a regular there, sitting at the end of the bar, listening to the wait staff ordering drinks and watching the bartenders make them, every night for about a month. Your liver can take an awful pounding.
Rather than suggesting that you go through that same arduous ordeal, I'll walk you through 10 steps that will put you on the path toward bartender super stardom. Well, something like that. Before we begin, know this: If you believe that you know what you're doing, and if you can pull it off without apology, you're 90 percent there.
1. Measuring ingredients
Measuring liquid ingredients precisely is a cinch if you use a jigger - the device you've seen bartenders use that looks like two tiny metal ice cream cones joined at the base. New jiggers - specifically the Oxo brand - look like miniature jugs with lines that let you know how much liquor you're pouring.
There's nothing wrong with using a jigger, and some of today's best bartenders do exactly that, though other equally accomplished mixologists use the free-pouring method. Here's how it's done: Fit a bottle full of water with any brand of pour spout - different styles pour at different speeds. Pour into the 1-ounce side of a jigger, counting in your head, until you have poured an ounce. Repeat. Repeat again. Soon you will know what number to count to in order to pour an ounce, and once you know your number you'll be able to accurately pour without a jigger for the rest of your life. Providing you use the same brand of pourer, that is.
2. Shaking
All drinks containing eggs, dairy products or fruit juices should be shaken, while drinks such as the dry gin martini and the Manhattan should be stirred. Although some bartenders like to shake martinis, nobody worth his or her Margarita salt would ever stir a drink that called for, say, lemon juice, milk or an egg white.
It's also good to know that as you chill the drink, you're also trying to incorporate enough water to make the cocktail palatable: One ounce of a 4-ounce drink that's been properly stirred or shaken will be water melted from ice.
Although metal cocktail shakers that include a built-in strainer look pretty spiffy, I far prefer to use a Boston shaker. The Boston shaker is made up of two flat-bottomed cones, one metal, one glass. There's something about this piece of equipment that makes me think that anyone who can use it properly means business. It's a serious tool. And it's a cinch to master.
Pour in the ingredients for the drink, fill the mixing-glass half of the shaker about two-thirds full of ice and place the metal half on top of the glass, giving it a sharp tap to ensure you have formed a watertight seal.
Now hold the shaker with both hands - one on the glass part, the other on the metal - and make sure that the glass points toward your shoulder as you shake. There have been occasions when the glass has flown from the shaker, and if that happens, you don't want it to fly into the room in front of you. Far better that it hits your shoulder, right?
Now I'll let you in on the secret of shaking drinks like a pro: You gotta shake that darned thing as if your life depended on it. Shake it as if you're trying to mix oil and water. Make a stupid face as you're shaking - everyone does this, you know. And shake it for at least 15 seconds if you want your drink to be cold enough.
Now you have to break that shaker apart. Hold the metal half in one hand so the glass is on top, and using the heel of your other hand, tap the metal sharply at the point where the two are joined.
The Mai Tai
Makes 1 serving
* 1 1/2 ounces 10 Cane rum
* 1/2 ounce Wray & Nephew overproof rum
* 1/2 ounce Grand Marnier
* 3/4 ounce orgeat syrup
* 1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
* 1 mint sprig, for garnish
Instructions: Pub all ingredients except garnish into a cocktail shaker. Fill shaker two-thirds full of ice and shake for approximately 15 seconds. Strain into a old-fashioned glass filled with crushed ice. Add the garnish.
3. Stirring
Take the mixing-glass half of a Boston shaker, pour in the ingredients, fill the glass about two-thirds full of ice and grab your trusty bar spoon. Note that your bar spoon has a twisted shaft. It's a functional part of the design.
Hold the twisted part of the shaft of the spoon between your thumb and first two fingers. Plunge the spoon into the mixing glass, and twirl the spoon back and forth by moving your fingers away from, then toward yourself. While you're doing this you should also be moving the spoon up and down in the glass. Stir the drink for between 20 and 30 seconds to achieve the desired temperature.
The Rob Roy
Makes 1 serving
* 2 ounces Chivas Regal 18-year-old or other scotch
* 1 ounce Noilly Prat sweet vermouth
* 2 dashes Peychaud's bitters
* 1 maraschino cherry, for garnish
Instructions: Place all ingredients except the garnish in a mixing glass. Add ice and stir. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Add the garnish.
4. Straining
One of my favorite bartenders used to strain drinks through her fingers, and that was a thing of great beauty, but I'm guessing that you'll want to be just a tad more conventional, so I'll guide to as to how to use both a spring-loaded Hawthorne strainer and a standard Julep strainer. The Hawthorne strainer should be used when pouring from the metal half of a Boston shaker; the Julep strainer is used to strain drinks from the mixing glass.
Sit the Hawthorne strainer firmly onto the mouth of the metal cone, or allow the Julep strainer to rest inside the mixing glass. Place your index finger over the top of the strainer to hold it firmly in place and strain the drink into the serving glass. When you get to the last drop, give the glass a sharp twist in any direction as you return it to an upright position, so any remaining drops of liquid don't fall on the bar. It's this twist that makes you look like a pro, so practice it a few times before you perform the maneuver in front of your friends.
5. Muddling
If you can muddle like you mean it, people are going to take you very seriously. Muddlers - basically, pestles for bartenders - come in all shapes, sizes and materials. I prefer wooden muddlers because they feel good, look good and by golly they muddle good, too.
You're going to need a sturdy glass in which to muddle because, depending on the ingredients in question, you might have to put some elbow grease into this. Put a sugar cube into a double old-fashioned glass, douse it liberally with bitters, grab your muddler by the tail, and crush all heck out of that sugar cube until it has completely dissolved into the bitters. If you think you did a good job, you might want to think about adding some ice and whiskey and having a nice Old-Fashioned Whiskey Cocktail.
When muddling herbs, you need to be a little more gentle, lest you release the bitterness from their stems. You're just looking to gently squeeze the essential oils out of, say, some mint leaves, and flavor the simple syrup that's in the glass. The real secret behind muddling is to make sure you tell your guest what you're doing and why you're doing it: "I'm being gentle with this mint because ..." Now you're muddling and showing off at the same time. Just like a real bartender.
6. Making a citrus twist
Citrus twists - the strips of fruit zest that incorporate a little of the white inner pith for sturdiness - add aroma and flavor to a cocktail when the bartender releases their essential oils onto the top of a drink. Try to make twists at least 1/2 inch wide so you have enough citrus oils to make a difference. Some people use a zester, which can yield a pretty-looking garnish, but the idea of introducing essential oils to the drink gets lost.
Hold the twist over the cocktail with the colored side pointing toward the surface of the drink. Hold the twist between your thumb and forefinger. Turn one end clockwise and the other counterclockwise. The oils will be released and will fall onto the top of the drink. Now rub the colored side of the twist around the rim of the glass so that any remaining oils adhere to the rim of the glass, and drop the twist into the drink.
Wanna get flashy? You can set a flame to those oils and watch them sparkle as they fly from the twist. Cut a very wide twist, and place it on the bar next to the drink with the colored side resting on the bar. Now light a match or a toothpick, and hold it close to the top of the drink. Take the twist in your other hand and hold it, colored side out, by the sides, using your thumb on one side and your first two or three fingers on the other side. Hold the twist over the flame - for orange twists, it's good to give it a couple of seconds to coax the oils to the surface - and squeeze it to release its oils. Blow out the match, drop the twist into the drink and look at the admiration in the eyes of your guest.
Manhattan East
Makes 1 serving
Adapted from a recipe by Dale DeGroff
* 1 1/2 ounces Makers Mark or other bourbon
* 1/2 ounce dry sake
* 2 dashes Peychaud's Bitters
* 1 ounce Domain de Canton ginger liqueur
* 1 flamed orange twist, for garnish
Instructions: Place all ingredients except the garnish in a mixing glass. Add ice and stir. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Light a match and hold it close to the top of the drink. Take the orange twist in your other hand and hold it by the sides. (The colored side of the twist should be pointing toward the drink.) Now hold the twist over the match and squeeze it to release its oils. Drop the twist into the drink.
7. Using herbs
It's important to match the scent of the herb with the appropriate cocktail. Rosemary and thyme, for instance, work really well with gin-based drinks; cilantro works in Bloody Marys and with tequila; and mint is commonly called for in the Mojito, and of course, the Mint Julep. You'll find that if you place, say, a sprig of mint in your palm, and slap it with your other hand, immediately before placing it on top of the drink, the aroma will be more intense.
You can also muddle herbs as described above, or you can simply put a sprig of this or that into your shaker or mixing glass with the rest of the ingredients in the drink-when you stir or shake the cocktail, the herb's flavors will be released, though they will be a little more delicate than they would have been had the herb been muddled.
The Mint Julep
Makes 1 serving
* 2 to 3 ounces bourbon
* 1 to 2 ounces simple syrup
* 8 to 12 stems of fresh mint, as an aromatic garnish
Instructions: Cut straws so that they are approximately 2 inches taller than the serving glass. (If you don't have a silver julep cup, a tall slender collins glass works very well.) Add crushed ice to the cup or glass until it is two-thirds full. Add the bourbon and the syrup, and stir for 10 to 20 seconds. Add more crushed ice and stir again until a thin layer of ice forms on the outside of the glass, then add more crushed ice so that it domes slightly over the rim of the glass. Garnish with the fresh mint stems, and insert the straws. Serve with a cocktail napkin to catch the condensation.
8. Rimming glasses
If you want to coat the rim of a cocktail glass with salt, sugar or perhaps a little finely grated orange zest, fill a shallow saucer with the coating material of your choice, and moisten the rim of the glass. To moisten the rim, you can slot a wedge of lemon or lime over the rim and squeeze it gently as you slide the wedge around the rim until the whole perimeter is moist. Alternatively you might dip the glass into a shallow saucer full of one of the drink's ingredients. Cointreau, for example, works well for both the Sidecar and the Margarita.
Now comes the part that many people get wrong. Don't just dip the glass into the saucer - if you do, the dry ingredient will stick to the interior of the glass, where it isn't wanted. Instead, take the base of the glass in one hand, and rest the bowl on the index finger of your free hand so that the rim faces downward at a 45-degree angle, allowing the rim to rest on the surface of the dry ingredient. Now simply rotate the glass until the whole rim is coated. Voila!
The Margarita
Makes 1 serving
* 3 ounces 100-percent agave white or reposado tequila
* 2 ounces Cointreau
* 1 ounce fresh lime juice
Instructions: Add all ingredients to a cocktail shakes. Add ice and shake for 10 to 15 seconds. Strain into a chilled, salt-rimmed cocktail glass.
9. Chilling glasses
Just as good chefs serve their hot food on warm plates, cold drinks should be served in chilled glasses. If you have room in your refrigerator or freezer to store glasses, that's exactly what you should do. If not, you can keep upturned glasses on a mound of crushed ice in a large bowl - this works well at parties - or you can fill the glasses with ice and water and let them sit in the sink while you mix the drink. Before pouring the drink, you must empty the glass of the ice and water by holding it by the base or the stem, and shaking the glass vigorously over the sink. The cold water will spill over the outside of the glass, chilling it thoroughly. After emptying the glass, shake it vigorously to rid it of any last drops of water.
10. Rinsing glasses
"Rinsing" glasses is a fine way to incorporate a small amount of a liqueur or spirit to a drink by coating the interior of the glass. This is easily achieved by pouring about a half-ounce into the glass, tilting it so that the liquid reaches the rim, then rotating the glass until the entire interior has been coated. Then you simply discard the excess liqueur and strain your cocktail into the glass.
Every time I make a Sazerac I think about how much the absinthe-makers must love this drink, simply because the absinthe rinse requires more absinthe to be poured down the drain than remains in the glass. There is a way to avoid such waste, if you care to invest in a small atomizer. You can coat the interior of the glass by merely pointing and clicking.
The Sazerac
Makes 1 serving
* 1/2 ounce absinthe
* 3 ounces straight rye whiskey
* 1/3 ounce simple syrup
* 3 dashes Peychaud's bitters
* 1 lemon twist, for garnish
Instructions: Pour the absinthe substitute into a chilled old-fashioned glass. Swirl the glass to coat the interior and discard the excess liquid. Place the whiskey, syrup and bitters into a mixing glass. Add ice, stir and strain into the glass. Add the garnish.
For how-to videos, go to sfgate.com/ZJCP or look into Gary Regan's "The Joy of Mixology" and other books.
