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Memorize These 5 Essential Rules For Making Great Cocktails At Home

Read full article at www.foodrepublic.com 

The cocktail is, in my opinion, America’s one truly great and unique contribution to the culinary world. Sure, there are the usual objections whenever I bring this up. What about pizza, jambalaya, hamburgers? But those foods we typically associate with American cuisine are little more than variations of European dishes, a reflection of the beautiful | Read More

This Is How To Make A Proper Mojito

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Sure, since the mojito became the most popular drink ever, once again, it’s also become popular for bartenders and self-described cocktail geeks to complain about it: It’s pedestrian, it’s the new Cosmo­politan, it takes too long to make.

How To Flame An Orange Peel For Cocktails

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One popular trick behind the bar today dates back to 1970 in Los Angeles, was revived by Dale DeGroff in New York in the 1980s, and continues to be popular among bartenders everywhere, and that’s the flamed orange peel. Reportedly invented by bartender Pepe Ruiz for the flame of love cocktail created for Dean Martin, | Read More

Reconsidering the Virtues of the Blended Cocktail

Read full article at punchdrink.com 

Often derided as sugar-laden and artificially-flavored, blended drinks have gotten a bad rap with the cocktail crowd over the years. Bartender Jeffrey Morgenthaler argues for their place among the classics and offers a 101 on making the perfect blended drink. Try this little experiment: Walk into your local craft cocktail bar, ask for a blended | Read More

Here’s Everything You Need To Know About Simple Syrup

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Simple syrup is generally found in two strengths: Equal parts sugar and water, the most common strength in U.S. bars, is referred to as “one-to-one” (1:1). Two parts sugar to one part water is, as you might guess, referred to as 2:1, which is the standard syrup in U.K. bars; in the States, you’ll often | Read More

Summer School

 

Ace Warm-weather cocktails with expert tricks and techniques from bartender and author Jeffrey Morgenthaler. During the nearly 20 years that I’ve worked as a bartender, I’ve learned that there are three essential aspects of making a great cocktail: the recipe you follow, the ingredients you select, and the technique you use. Come up short in | Read More

The Classic Daiquiri Is an Ideal Summertime Cocktail

Read full article at playboysfw.kinja.com 

Up here in the rainy Pacific Northwest we don’t see much sun until roughly mid-July, but this year we’ve been treated to an unseasonably warm spring. I’ve altered my weekend beverage schedule accordingly. You see, while April and May are usually set aside for Mint Juleps at my house, this glorious sunshine has me currently | Read More

The Essential Tool That Most Home Bars Are Sorely Lacking

Read full article at playboysfw.kinja.com 

No home bartender disputes the importance of a quality shaker. Opaque cocktail ingredients like cream, fruit juice, and egg whites need to be shaken hard to be incorporated into a drink. It provides a light, delicate experience; a cocktail full of tiny air bubbles that dance on the tongue. Well, that shaker alone won’t do a | Read More

Rescuing the Long Island Iced Tea From Its 1970s Origins

Read full article at playboysfw.kinja.com 

Let’s just admit it, the Long Island Iced Tea is a bit of a joke. The drink had its heyday in the 1980s and 1990s, but ordering one now will get you laughed out of half of America’s so-called craft cocktail bars. That’s a damn shame. Because when it’s made well—with the proper balance of | Read More

11 Great Spirits You Should Be Drinking Right Now

Read full article at playboysfw.kinja.com 

One of the highlights of my year comes every March, when 38 of my colleagues and I convene in the Bay Area for a weekend to blind taste nearly 1,500 spirits from 64 countries. It’s a great time to hang with some of the best bartenders, wine experts, writers, and spirits professionals in the business. | Read More

El Diablo: Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with This Tequila Cocktail

Read full article at playboysfw.kinja.com 

Cinco de Mayo has become, in my opinion, something of a farce holiday here in the United States. Originally celebrated by the Mexican state of Puebla to commemorate a victory over the French in 1862, the day has been co-opted by huge liquor conglomerates to pour cheap, mass-market tequila down the throats of frat boys. | Read More