Raise your spirits

cocktails with ANDREW GEPPERT

Cocktailing. Where math mistakes, imbalanced ratios, and poor decisions have little consequence. Where the debates can rage about tradition, authenticity, and form vs. function. Where you can spend 20 seconds or 20 hours making a single votive offering.

No doubt there are norms, a canon, perhaps even Akashic records of how the perfect libation should be crafted. There are rules … and opinion. I implore you to explore all of the possibilities and form your own conclusions. But I’ll try share a few things that have worked for me over the years that I think will level up your cocktail game.

Ingredients
Use only fresh juices and vermouth! Squeeze your juices the day you are making cocktails. If you are entertaining, please save yourself some grief, and prepare your juices prior to the arrival of your guests. Similarly, for your Manhattans and Martinis, please purchase a better quality vermouth, store in your fridge, and try to consume in preferably three months. Try purchasing a smaller bottle (0.375L) and exploring a variety of cocktails to use up this potion quickly. 

Shaking
If a spec (“recipe”) calls for fresh juice, it should be shaken to fully combine the juices; if a spec is only alcohol it could be stirred. When you shake, fill your tin full of ice. If you put too little ice in the tin, it will quickly dilute and your drink will be watery and not crisp. A tin full of ice will also chill your drink faster. Ideally, you would use one-inch cubes that are larger than your garden variety freezer product. You can’t add too much ice. You know you are done shaking when the tin is ice cold and there is a frosty sheen on the outside, about 10-20 seconds depending on your vigor.

Tools
Invest in a jigger that allows you to pour ¼, ½, ¾, 1, 1 ½, and 2 ounces. Buy a new tin that has a weighted bottom and is highly reviewed. It should have a thin sidewall which will allow you to easily separate the two pieces. Avoid built in strainers; purchase a Hawthorne style strainer and perhaps even a fine strainer so you can double strain your cocktails to have a perfectly clear cocktail free of ice shards (unless your patrons demand them). Although a poor carpenter blames his tools, a small investment in these items will pay dividends on your journey.

Featured Spring Cocktail

Baroness Collins

This spring and summer porch pounder, a sophisticated rif on the classic Tom Collins, has pleased everyone who has been graced by her presence. 

1½ oz. gin, preferably a London dry gin
½ oz. Campari
1 oz. fresh lime juice
¾ oz. simple syrup (1:1)
6 fresh mint leaves
Club soda

Muddle the mint and simple syrup in a shaker, add ice and the remaining ingredients except club soda. Shake vigorously until the tin is frosted, strain into a Tom Collins glass filled with fresh ice, top with soda and a spring of mint. 

Enjoy.