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How to survive COCKTAILS

From Staff Reports

buzz@hickoryrecord.com

Published: November 6, 2008

Hickory - You feel like Carrie Bradshaw with a cosmo in your hand. You're James Bond when someone hands you that shaken martini. But when you're behind the bar, the drinks don't seem so fab. This advice will help.

1. Upgrade your liquor cabinet. It's the easiest thing you can do to make better drinks. You don't have to go with the $40 bottle of gin or vodka but you'll have better results if you opt for the mid-priced spirit instead of the $5, bottom-shelf bottle.

2. Shake it up, baby. Shake drinks when they include fruit juice, cream liqueurs, syrup, sour mix, egg, dairy or other thick, flavorful mixers. Use this method for the chocolate martini, a cosmo or a mai tai.

3. Know when to stir things up. Stir cocktails that use distilled spirits or very light mixers. Examples include Manhattans, regular martinis or the Rob Roy.

4. Ice cubes work for almost all cocktails. They melt slowly and dilute less. Cracked ice, which is smaller and melts faster, is perfect for frozen drinks because cubes can clog a blender blade. Crushed or shaved ice is the fine stuff you get with fountain drinks. It is best use in a shaker to produce a thick cocktail.

5. Just chill. Your glass needs to match the drink temperature to keep the drink colder longer and to heighten the experience of drinking the cocktail. Either put the glass in the freezer for a minute before you add the drink or fill the glass with cold water or ice while it's waiting to be filled.

Need some advice on how to survive your next sticky situation? E-mail buzz@hickoryrecord.com or call 322-4510, x5403 to make sure we add you to the list.