Use These Bartender-Approved Tips to Make the Perfect Cocktails at Home
Due to COVID-19 and attempts mitigate the spread of the virus, including sheltering in place and practicing social distancing, visiting a beloved neighborhood dive bar is, let's face it, not an option for a large number of Americans. Many bars and restaurants have been forced to temporary close, and even bars that were able to re-open have, weeks later, re-closed in response to a rise in confirmed COVID-19 cases. But just because you don't have the option to imbibe at your local watering hole, doesn't mean you can't conjure up a cocktail (or two!) in your own kitchen.
Woman's Day spoke with a handful of bartenders, who shared their tips and tricks on how to make the perfect cocktail at home. From attaining the right tools to building the confidence you'll need to experiment a little bit behind the bar (read: kitchen counter), these bartender-approved tips will have you feeling like the swankiest mixologist in town. (And as soon as it's safe to have your friends and family over, rest assured they'll be in awe of the new, highly useful skills you've picked up during quarantine.)
Make sure your bar is well-stocked.
Sure, you can haphazardly throw together a cocktail with a few random ingredients found in any run-of-the-mill kitchen. But if you want to truly become a cocktail connoisseur, you should invest in the perfect mix of liquors, mixers, and essential bartending tools.
Tom Henderson, a bartender in Edinburgh, Scotland — who runs an Instagram account called Morningside Medleys, where he teaches viewers simple ways to make cocktails at home — recommends stocking your bar with five essentials: vodka, gin, rum, tequila, and an orange liqueur, like triple sec. "If you have these five spirits, you can make so many cocktails," Henderson tells Woman's Day. If you're committed to amping up your bar with more than the basic five spirits, bartender Ariel Scalise, who works at Quantum Spirits in Carnegie, Pennsylvania, recommends checking out the book The 12 Bottle Bar, which helps readers determine which 12 spirits they should add to their collection (and all the cocktails a budding bartender can make from them!).
When you're picking out the bottles you want to stock your at-home bar with, Ryan Marshall, a bartending teacher at Elite Bartending School Orlando, suggests you avoiding buying a particular brand just because they're expensive. "Instead, try something new, and do a little research," Marshall tells Woman's Day. "The alcohol industry is ever evolving and constantly producing new and exciting liquors and liqueurs, along with amazing variations to old favorites."
Know your tools.
Like any great craftsman, a bartender is well versed in the art of using their tools to create the perfect cocktail. Getting some basic bartending tools, and learning how to use them, will definitely take your at-home cocktail game to the next level. Of all the bartenders Woman's Day spoke to, the general consensus was that you should have a basic bar kit on hand, including a shaker tin, strainer, a highball mixing glass to shake, and a jigger, which is used to measure the liquid you'll be adding to your cocktail. More advanced tools to add to your collection include a bar spoon, muddler, and tea strainer, according to Marshall, but when you're just beginning they're not essential.
Go for balance.
"Balancing cocktails is the absolute art of being a bartender," Marshall says. "It's what makes our creations whole and delicious while still grasping the flavor of each ingredient in every sip." In your attempts to replicate cocktail bar-quality drinks at home, he recommends the following formula: for every one part alcohol, you need one part sweet and one part sour. Scalise agrees, and says that if an at-home cocktail "just doesn't taste right," you should consider which part of the drink is off. "Is it too much sugar? Not enough acid? Too strong? Then adjust accordingly," she explains. "Trial and error is the fun part."
Think about why you're shaking a drink.
"The best tip/trick that I was ever taught is that there is more then one reason to shake a cocktail," Marshall says. "Obviously, it chills the drink, but it also 'softens' the cocktail, breaking up the ice and slightly diluting it so that the flavors, specifically the alcohol, aren't as overwhelming." So if you're trying to channel your inner James Bond and decide on shaken versus stirred, consider how much you want to taste the alcohol in a drink before you decide if you'll create your cocktail.
Make your own simple syrup.
Some cocktails, like mojitos, use granulated sugar to add a dash of sweetness, according to Henderson. But in most cases, you're going to want to use a simple syrup. It might sound fancy, but you can make your own by mixing one part water to one part sugar, then boiling the mixture on the stove, Henderson says. Adding a home-made simple syrup to your at-home bar will allow you to take your cocktails to the next level.
If you feel like getting fancy with your simple syrup, Scalise recommends infusing your homemade brew with seasonal flavors. "In winter, I like to make rosemary or fig syrup, which work amazingly in [an] Old Fashioned and [a] Manhattan," she says. "In summer, it's nice to keep a fresh mint or lavender syrup, which are excellent for the lighter flavors of vodka, rum, or tequila cocktails."
Develop your confidence.
When it comes to the art of bartending, "confidence is a big thing," Henderson says. "Bartenders at a nice bar are confident — they know what they’re doing." So take your time practicing and learning to develop your confidence when tackling new and classic drinks.
Don't worry if you feel a bit ridiculous playing the role of bartender at first, either. "No one looks very cool using a shaker, except for Tom Cruise," Henderson says. (And coming from a real bartender, that should instantly take some pressure off.)
Allow yourself the freedom to experiment.
Start easy with the basics, but once you feel like you've got your footing, give yourself the room to take some risks. Many cocktails have simple twists that make them unique from other drinks, so if you've perfected a daiquiri try taking on a mojito. "Make little tweaks, and it's a brand new drink," Henderson says. And don't be afraid to listen to your gut, too. If your instincts are telling you to try out a new flavor in a favorite drink, follow those instincts!
Make it a party.
Sure, social distancing is currently putting the kibosh on the whole in-person cocktail party thing, but that doesn't mean you can't share your homemade spirits with your friends and family virtually. For example, each week Henderson has a cross-Atlantic Zoom call with his sister and her husband where he teaches them to make new cocktails. "Especially when you have friends around, have fun with it," Henderson says. "When someone shakes a cocktail, there's something about it that puts a smile on everyone's face."
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