Cocktailing Is Life
or, Life Is a Cocktail and I Want to Drink It (All Night Long)
drinks with ANDY GEPPERT
Did I choose cocktails or did they choose me? I used to enjoy cooking and throwing dinner parties that far exceeded my capabilities. At some point I transitioned from cooking to cocktailing. I can spend 30 seconds or 30 hours, and I can build something that knocks my socks off with fewer ingredients, less cleaning (but I still make a mess), and the same dopamine rush. Unlike with beer or wine, I can be the artisan, using very affordable inputs and transform the common into the exceptional.
There is a grand debate about whether anything in life is good or bad for you. I’m not a doctor. As a layperson, my takeaways are straightforward. Like with everything in life, moderation likely has its benefits. But the social benefits of sharing a beverage with others cannot be discounted. Connections are hard to come by and having an excuse to meet up with friends and share a beverage is a worthy pursuit. Raising a glass, laughing, and hopefully dancing with your friends and lovers is what it’s all about—it is truly the best part of being human!
Recently, I was in discussion with a pal about my favorite pastime and they posited that controlling the dilution in your cocktail is the first cheat code to better cocktails. Add too much water, and the spirits lose their edge and any flavors sink away. Add too little water, and then you have a cacophony of sharp points that are out of balance.
The same goes for sugar. Finding the perfect balance in the ratios is the thing. To find out for yourself, make five different daiquiris with different amounts of ice/water and sugar. To extenuate the dilution effect, you can add ½ or ¾ ounce of water and taste the difference. Rinse and repeat with the amount of simple syrup.
After a rigorous tasting of several cocktails, this came out on top as the prized summer feature. This lemon basil concoction is another easy summer sipper that is simple to assemble and delivers big basil flavor country.
2 oz. gin, preferably a London dry gin
¾ oz. fresh lemon juice
½ oz. simple syrup (1:1) or ⅓ oz. simple syrup (2:1), according to your sweetness preference
12 fresh basil leaves
Basil Gin Smash (Official Messenger Summer Cocktail)
photo by Matt McCarthy, taken during a rigorous tasting
Muddle the basil and simple syrup in a shaker, add ice and the remaining ingredients. Shake vigorously until the tin is frosted, strain into an old fashioned glass filled with fresh ice, top with a spring of basil.
If you want to add more lemon juice or basil, or less sugar, you can find the perfect ratio that works for you. Recently, we batched 25 servings of this cocktail, and my esteemed volunteer sous chef absolutely nailed the flavor—tart enough to have a slight pucker of the lips, herbaceous enough to taste the freshness of the basil, and just barely a hint of sugar.
Andy Geppert is a lifetime learner and amateur in most things, including his bartending at the GarBar. Founder of the Cocktail Catalog, he is hoping to democratize well-made cocktails to the masses so we can all enjoy our favorite nip at home or appreciate what goes into the masterpieces served at our local establishments.