Cocktails A Collaborative Effort by Andrew Trevitt design by Deborah Trevitt
Introduction W
hether you need something to help you unwind from a hard day at work or are simply looking for something new for your taste buds, a cocktail is sure to satisfy. Yes, most of the joy is in the consumption, but the preparation—creation, really—of the perfect cocktail is just as much fun. From shopping for the right ingredients to selecting the correct glasses and the proper tools and putting it all together, there is plenty of room for improvisation and experimentation. The double-edged sword is that no two cocktails are ever alike. Use the same recipe and ingredients twice in a row, and you’ll still get something a little bit different to tickle your palate. Unfortunately, that also means that duplicating the perfect cocktail (if you manage to make it) is difficult if not impossible! This book is a sampling of our favourite cocktails, from the traditional martini to the offthe-cuff watermelon slushy. There’s something to fit almost every occasion, be it a formal dinner with guests or lounging by the pool after a hard day at the office. While following the recipes will give a satisfactory result, don’t be shy about straying from what’s written here—a little bit extra fruit or ice, a little bit less sugar or juice, whatever your taste or mood suggests. That is the real beauty of a cocktail: there is no right or wrong, and you never know how it will turn out until you take that first sip. Enjoy!
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Gimlet
or a cocktail that is so simple and uses so few ingredients, the gimlet has an almost infinite number of variations. The drink is named after a surgeon—Gimlette—who used gin and lime juice more than a century ago to help members of the British navy take their daily ration of lime juice to fight scurvy. Since that time, the drink has evolved into its various forms and the name shortened to gimlet. For a quick and easy version, pour
2 oz gin or vodka 1 oz lime cordial or 1 oz lime juice and 1 tsp sugar the gin or vodka along with lime cordial over ice in a lowball glass. Or you can shake the ingredients with ice and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with a slice of lime. For some added zing replace the cordial with juice from a lime and sweeten to taste with powdered sugar or sugar the rim of the glass. Enjoy any combination of alcohol and methods for a unique flavour every time.
lemon
drop 1½ oz vodka ½ oz triple sec ¾ oz lemon juice 1 tsp sugar or ¼ oz simple syrup
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tasty sweet-and-sour combination, the lemon drop can be biased in either direction just as the similarly named candies are. Combine the ingredients, shake with ice and pour into a martini glass. Vary the amount of sugar depending on your tastes and how sour the lemons may be, or just sugar the rim of the glass if you’re not sure. Garnish with a twist of lemon or slip in some tiny squares of rind. For best results, use a domestic or European vodka rather than one from Russia or a traditional vodka producing nation to avoid overpowering the lemon with additional flavours. That said, you can use Cointreau triple sec to add some upper-class to the drink, or for a special treat mix in a half-ounce of limoncello liqueur.
marGarita
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2 oz tequila 1 oz triple sec 1½ oz lime juice 1 tsp sugar or ½ oz simple syrup
his popular cocktail can be created in a variety of ways depending on your tastes and mood. Use a white tequila, not for any flavor benefits but mainly because a gold tequila (the colour is from aging) can dull the appearance of this festive cocktail. Avoid mixes and lime cordial, as this drink is best made with fresh limes—try key limes for a more tart and authentic flavour. Make a traditional margarita by salting the rim of a margarita glass and pouring the ingredients over crushed ice. Garnish with a slice of lime. For a more summery drink, blend the ingredients with a cup of crushed ice. Still not summer enough? Freeze your favourite fruit overnight and add that to the blender as well. Raspberry, strawberry, mango, banana—the choices for a margarita are practically unlimited.
CosmoPolitan
1 oz vodka ½ oz triple sec 1 oz cranberry juice ½ oz lime juice
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here are many variations of the cosmopolitan, and many shortcuts, but this is one drink that is always best made by sticking to the recipe and using proper ingredients. Like the lemon drop, use a well-filtered domestic or European vodka as you don’t want to overpower the remaining flavours. Avoid cranberry juice cocktails as they have other juices and are sweetened, and use pure cranberry juice instead. Likewise, use the juice of a lime rather than lime cordial. Sugar the rim of a martini glass with raw or turbinado sugar mixed with orange zest; use crushed candy canes for a festive look and taste during the holiday season. Mix the ingredients and shake with ice. Garnish with an orange twist, a slice of orange or a slice of lime, and enjoy!
Martini 2 oz gin or vodka ½ oz vermouth
A cocktail for the purists, the martini dates well back into the 19th century.
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ecause the gin or vodka dominates this drink, you’ll want to experiment with different brands of each as well as traditional vodkas for their distinctive flavour. How you prepare the martini can have an impact on its taste, so it’s well worth trying different things. More or less vermouth—anything from just a drop to one ounce—affects the dryness of the cocktail and its strength; start with a half-ounce and venture either side of that. Likewise, shaking with ice adds water to the martini, and that can also change the flavour; let the vodka or gin warm somewhat (if you keep it in the freezer) so that at least some ice melts and brings out the flavour, especially when using gin. Garnish with an olive, or variations include the Gibson (garnished with a small onion) or the dirty martini (olive brine in place of vermouth).
Watermelon Slushy
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1½ oz vodka ½ oz triple sec ½ oz lime juice ½ cup frozen watermelon chunks ½ oz simple syrup or 1 tsp sugar ½ cup crushed ice
his summery cocktail was created on a hot day in an apartment in Glendale, after much experimentation and taste testing. The final product is both fun to make and refreshing after a hot day. Start by cutting a watermelon into chunks and freezing overnight. Use a domestic or European vodka and real lime juice. Adjust the amount of sugar depending on your taste and how sweet the watermelon is, or sugar the rim of the glass. Speaking of the glass, the beauty of this cocktail is that you can serve it in almost anything—a martini glass if you are feeling classy, a plastic tumbler if you are lazying by the pool, or a margarita glass if that’s what you have handy. Simply blend everything together and pour.
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MoJito T
he mojito is a traditional Cuban highball cocktail; this version adds ginger for some extra zing. Combine the mint leaves, ginger and sugar and muddle everything together with a mortar and pestle. There are two schools of thought here: One is to just barely muddle the mint, bruising it to release the essential oils; the other is to be more aggressive, making a paste that more easily dissolves in the drink. The second method works best here because of the addition of the ginger. Add some soda water to dissolve the paste and clean the pestle, transferring the mix to a highball glass. Add some ice cubes, the rum and lime juice, and top up the glass with soda water. Garnish with a lime wedge and sprig of mint.
2 oz white rum 1 oz lime juice 12 mint leaves 1 tsp minced ginger 1 tsp raw or turbinado sugar soda water
FroZen BaNana DaiQuiri 1½ oz light rum ½ oz triple sec 1½ oz lime juice 1 tsp sugar 1 medium banana 1 cup crushed ice
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he daiquiri’s origin can be traced back more than 100 years to a beach near Santiago, Cuba. A combination of rum and readily available sugar and lime juice, the drink found its way to the United States via the Navy and was a favourite of writer Ernest Hemingway and president John F. Kennedy. The drink gradually became more popular (especially during wartime rationing, when rum was easily obtainable while whiskey, vodka and other spirits were not) and evolved into different versions, including frozen and fruit-flavoured. For a frozen banana daiquiri, combine the ingredients and mix in a blender until smooth. Vary the amount of sugar as necessary, and serve in a glass that suits your fancy.
set of fancy bar tools to make a good cocktail, but there are some necessities.
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oremost among the necessities is a measuring device. It can be a shot glass, a jigger or a measuring cup; practically anything that will let you get the ratios correct will do. Measuring accurately is not all that critical for making one good cocktail, but the important thing is that you want to be able to repeat something you’ve made if it turns out extra delicious. A good shaker is a definite must for many drinks. There are two types, the traditional cocktail shaker and the Boston shaker. The traditional shaker has a tight-fitting lid with a strainer incorporated, and is a good choice for most drinks. The Boston shaker is a separate mixing glass and bar tin, which fit together for shaking.
tools trade of the
You don’t have to have a full
You’ll need a separate strainer if you use a Boston shaker.
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good juicer or lemon/lime squeezer saves time and mess. A zester/peeler will let you create an array of garnishes for your drinks, and a mortar and pestle will come in handy for making the mojitos. An ice crusher is certainly handy but not essential; wrap cubes in a tea towel and smash them with a rolling pin if you’re in a pinch. For blended drinks you’ll need, of course, a blender (into which you should never put ice cubes, always crushed). Finally, while the correct glass as listed here in each recipe is not imperative, it does add a touch of class to any cocktail.
• Keep your liqour in the freezer and the mixes in the fridge; this keeps everything cool so that less ice melts in the cocktail and waters it down. • Make simple syrup by mixing equal parts sugar and water; heat on the stove or in the microwave until the sugar dissolves; store in the fridge. • Cocktails are always better with fresh fruit rather than purchased mixes; for frozen drinks, you can cheat by using packaged frozen fruit. • Don’t be afraid to experiment, varying the amount of sugar, fruit, alcohol and ice in any given recipe. This is one of the joys of making your own cocktails.
• Use powdered sugar in blended or shaken drinks, or rim the glass with raw or turbinado sugar; mixed drinks are best made with simple syrup. Always err on the not-enough side with sugar or syrup, you can always add more to the finished drink. • Put the finishing touch on your cocktail by chilling the glasses in the freezer beforehand. • 1 oz lime juice is roughly the juice of an average-sized lime; one lemon will usually net 1½ oz juice.
odds and
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hristmas erry from Andrew and Deborah
December 2009 Š