Tools of the trade

TOOLS OF THE TRADE

"Creating cocktails is like an artisan at work;

Where poor tools shackle you, proper ones open the world for you."

- Celestino

All this time when I've created cocktails for your entertainment (and perhaps inspiration) you've only seen the result of the finished product. But this time I would take the time and show you the tools of my trade. Some of them are a must acquisition and some are more rarely used. Nonetheless, every tool plays an important role when its time comes. One should never neglect one piece of equipment just because one hasn't used it in a long time.

Anyhow, let's have a better look at these:

Starting from the left:

• a fine strainer.
• the Boston/3-piece-shaker
• the liquor measures
• a lime presser
• a hawthorne strainer
• a zest grater
• a saw-edged knife
• a channel knife
• another saw-edged knife, sharp edge
• a bar spoon
• a peeler
• a liquor pourer

and my newest collection from England

Starting from the left:

• a drop bottle
• UK liquor measures
• a melon baller
• a julep strainer
• a fine strainer
• a microplane
• (missing from this picture is another Finnish 4 cl CE-certified liquor measure, given by my dear friends!)

The drop bottles I can use for dashes/tiny amounts of bitters/equivalent measures of liquids. The melon baller makes perfect...well, balls from fruit I can use for decorations, the julep strainer is my newest catch from UK. For straining cocktails that have only spirits, this is the tool. Another fine strainer for double straining and a big thanks to my friends in the UK who gave me a microplane. Finally I can grate nutmegs straight onto the cocktail without using the massive shredder I have!

The jiggers or spirit measures. In this picture the far most left is a "foreign" measure, counting 1 3/4 fluid ounces and 7/8 fluid ounces (I got this from South Africa). The rest three are standard Finnish ones, with 20ml and 40ml centiliters (half and single). The UK measures in the previous pictures go at 25ml and 50ml (for single and double)

The Boston shaker (left) and the 3-piece-shaker (right). The 3-piece-one is more user-friendly to begin with but with the Boston Shaker I've become better friends. Especially when pouring liquids in the glass part (not having any ice in it) I can see what I'm doing whereas with the other one it's all hidden inside the tin.

The 3-piece-shaker has an in-built strainer whereas with the Boston shaker you need a separate strainer. What baffles many people with the Boston one is how to open the shaker after shaking it? Since the metal (and due to thermodynamics) freezes itself to the glass part. It's really simple once you learn it. Below is a picture of the shaker. See that little gap where the glass part starts to open up? You only need a gentle tap to that part and the shaker will open.

Let's continue...

The strainer is one of the more useful tools. Everytime I double strain, I use one of these babies. That way I ensure no little ice shards reach the cocktail, making the drink smooth as fu*k. The lime presser is a very handy device to squeeze the juice of half a lime in no time. Due to its small-ish size, only limes can be used.

Here is the other cocktail strainer, the Hawthorne strainer. Used for most cocktails where the rim stops the ice cubes for falling in the drink + most of the pulp of fruits (if any). Underneath it is one of my babies. The item I value. Introducing the cocktail spoon. I got this from a cocktail bar that was active some years ago. The swizzling motive on the shaft enables stirring of the spoon with great ease when creating cocktails that need...well, stirring. The "hammer" end is for muddling various items such as limes/sugar/mint leaves etc. 

Here are my "decorative" tools. The channel knife makes proper twists, the two saw-edged ones cut fruit like there's no tomorrow, the peeler for fruit peels and the small grater for those that little zest grating that might be needed. Given, that is one of my more rarely used items.

Like any artisan, I've spent quite a time gathering my tools. And they have served me well. Well, indeed! I know I'm stilling missing a proper mixing glass but I will get that some day, promised!

With the help of these tools I can create magnificent, marvelous and otherwise amazing cocktails.

What do you think? Am I missing something crucial from my repertoire? Let me know and I will get back to you!

Mimosa

MIMOSA

Good morning everyone! I've had a small-ish break from cocktail creating but after the Finnish May Day celebration I believe it is more than correct to post a hair of the dog - style cocktail for each and everyone to enjoy. I give you the Mimosa (a close relative of the Buck's Fizz):

• one part orange juice (only use premium quality!)
• one part champagne (brut sparkling wine)

First pour in the OJ, then top it off with your choice of sparkling wine. Stirring is recommended, for the sake of this picture it wasn't stirred.

Fruity, dry-ish, refreshing! I don't think this cocktail even needs any garnish, given it is created after a party, so fiddling with fruits isn't necessary at all! Then again, at brunch a strawberry would compliment this drink wonderfully.

As I mentioned earlier about the relationship with the Buck's Fizz. Where this one is equal amounts of OJ and sparkling wine, the Buck's Fizz is two parts OJ to one part sparkling wine, making an even more lighter drink. Either way, excellency guaranteed with this one.

Ramos Gin Fizz

RAMOS GIN FIZZ

The legendary Ramos Gin Fizz, originates from the year 1888 and has served many customers ever since. Today I'm taking a better look at this cocktail that has at least exceptional ingredient in it.

• 4.5 cl gin
• 1.5 cl lemon juice
• 1.5 cl lime juice
• 3.0 cl simple syrup
• 6.0 cl heavy cream
• 1 egg white
• a few drops of orange blossom (flower) water

With all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker, dry shake with pride for at least a few minutes. Then add ice and shake for a good 12 minutes. Yes, you heard me, 12-long-minutes. Well at least according to the original recipe you were supposed to shake it for that time. Back in the days when you made this the shaker was going around the bartenders, being shook by everyone for a long enough time. In my occasion I settled for ~2 minutes of dry shaking and ~3 minutes ice shaking.

Now strain your cocktail into a tall glass with no ice and top the drink of with some soda water. Stir and optionally garnish (I kind of forgot) with...say an orange slice, or a cherry speared between an orange slice. But something orangy, that's for sure :)

The texture of this cocktail was extremely frothy. Notes of orange clearly noticeable. Taste was smooth as fu*k. Tasted a bit like orange-milk, aftertaste a tad bitter. It's like a cousin for a Piña Colada! That's the taste! But...this cocktail did not give me a "wow" - effect. It's a good cocktail, but not that good. Was an interesting one, nonetheless.

Team Ding Dong

TEAM DING DONG

Today I created a cocktail requested by a colleague of mine! Introducing the Team Ding Dong! (no, I did not make this name up :D) When I first looked at the ingredients list, I started wondering whether the cloud berry jam would work with whiskey. Surprisingly though, it did!

• 3 teaspoons cloud berry jam 
• 1 cl lemon juice (fresh)
• 1 cl orange juice (fresh)
• 1 cl simple syrup
• 4 cl Jameson Irish Whiskey

Add everything in a cocktail shaker, put in ice and shake vigorously. Double strain into a chilled champagne glass. (Editor's note: Preferably a coupe glass, the flute did not work). Garnish with an orange twist.

As mentioned in my previous chapter, before I discuss the taste of this cocktail, the champagne flute was a poor decision for this cocktail. I had trouble straining the cloud berry jam "pulp" into the narrow glass, causing a bit of a mess. A coupe would've done a much better job + the garnish would've looked better.

That said, the taste. Marvellous! Easily spotted the whiskey, which was at the same time sweet and sour. The jam gave this drink its well-deserved body and even with 3 tea spoons of it, it wasn't overpowering at all. It gave...and exciting side note to this cocktail. A good cocktail made better with the right choice of glass!

Apinawiski (Monkey Whiskey)

APINAWISKI (MONKEY WHISKEY)

Here's an easy mix for everyone to try! As we already know, there are numerous mixes of X and coke, but this weird-ish combination of whiskey and banana, you have to try it to believe it!

• 2 cl whiskey
• 2 cl banana liquor (e.g. creme de bananes)
• coca-cola

Add the liquors in a high ball glass filled with ice and top it off with cola. No garnish needed. The Monkey Whiskey has a smooth notes of banana, the slight kick of whiskey and of course, whiskey + coke does work. All in all, not a  special cocktail, but an easy mix for any event!

Cucumber & Green Tea Mojito

CUCUMBER & GREEN TEA MOJITO

What a pleasantly summery drink we have here! Here is a Cucumber & Green Tea Mojito, first introduced by a friend of mine who found it from here and let me know about it. At first my suspic-o-meter gave a signal. Cucumber...and tea...and a mojito?? Well, why the fudge not??

I had to do some before-hand preparations for this cocktail. The recipe serves four and the ingredients are measured accordingly:

• 1 cucumber (save some for garnishin)
• 20 cl water
• 20 cl sugar
• 20 cl white rum
• 20 cl green tea
• 4 limes
• 2 pots of mint
• (club soda)

The cucumber syrup:

• 1 whole cucumber
• 20 cl water
• 20 cl sugar (almost a full US cup)

Cut the cucumber into slices and with the water + sugar bring to boil and then let it simmer on medium heat so that the sugar completely dissolves. Strain the cucumbers and let the syrup cool at room temperature a little while before putting it in the fridge.

Brew a cup (25cl) green tea and let it cool similar as the syrup.

Get your mixing glass ready. Drop roughly 6-10 mint leaves in the glass (you can smack the mint leaves gently before doing this for the essential oils to come up better), add the juice of half a lime and gently muddle the mint/lime juice. Now add 5 cl of the cucumber syrup, 5 cl green tea and 5 cl rum and stir to mix. 

Take a tumbler, fill it with ice and pour in the mixture. Garnish with a few slices of cucumber, a sprig of mint, a wedge of lime and optionally a splash of club soda is okay too. Using a straw helps a lot too! On a side note, I never needed to use all of the limes listed in the recipe, I did well with 2½, using 1 half/drink + a small wedge. Also, I never used the club soda, didn't hurt the drink though.

I made this for friends that came over today and their commentary on this cocktail was unanimous; a very refreshing summer drink! 

To wrap this up, actually making four cocktails was a bit of a hassle, but all's well that ends well! A good cocktail this was! (and still is)

Thanks for the input, Tacy! :)

Long Island Ice Tea

LONG ISLAND ICE TEA

Here we have one of those "epic" cocktails (such as the Singapore Sling). The famous Long Island Ice Tea. I made one of these back in the days with poor(er) success than now. I've gotten wiser from those years. And my equipment has gotten better. To be honest, this cocktail isn't really that hard to pull of, the amount of liquors might just scare some before anything has happened yet! So let's begin:

• 1.5 cl tequila
• 1.5 cl vodka
• 1.5 cl rum (white)
• 1.5 cl cointreau
• 1.5 cl gin
• 2.5 cl lemon juice
• 3.0 cl simple syrup
• cola

Except for the cola, add everything in your cocktail shaker, put some ice in it and shake vigorously. Strain into a tom collins (high ball) glass filled with ice and top it off with cola. A lemon wedge/slice for garnish + a few straws do the rest. As you can see from the picture, the alcohols are on the bottom, the cola on top of it and the general color is similar that of a ice tea (peach).

I can't remember much from my early years, but this one knocks my socks right off my feet! Albeit being a potent mixture, I can barely taste the alcohol in this one. In addition, it does taste like ice tea!

If you feel like doing something special with the items in your bar cabinet, this is definitely the one.

Bronx

BRONX

Introducing this cocktail with other words than the Wikipedia would be futile:

"The Bronx Cocktail is essentially a perfect martini with orange juice added."

Fair enough. So a "perfect" martini/manhattan/etc. is equal amounts of sweet AND dry vermouth in the drink. Excluding the cocktail garnish (one kumquat cut in half), here is the Bronx:

• 3 cl gin
• 1.5 cl sweet vermouth
• 1 cl dry vermouth
• 1.5 cl orange juice

Add everything in the cocktail shaker with ice, shake and strain into a chilled cocktail/martini glass. The kumquat decoration was wholly my idea, something yellow-ish and pretty to the side doesn't hurt this cocktail at all.

Unlike the dry martini, the sweet vermouth does not really work here. It has that Negroni/Americano - style bitterness which overpowers the rest of the cocktail. I could barely taste anything else than the sweet vermouth. This is definitely not one of my favorite cocktails. I'd rather have a dry martini instead.

Champagne cocktail Shaker style

CHAMPAGNE COCKTAIL SHAKER STYLE

More sparkling cocktails! Here is a champagne cocktail I made using the recipe Shaker Bar in Helsinki/Jyväskylä use in one of their mixes. It's an interesting one and I had to try it myself:

• ~1 cm piece of cucumber
• 2 cl midori
• dash simple syrup
• sparkling wine (champagne)

First, cut a pice of cucumber, drop it in your cocktail shaker and muddle the juices out of it. Add the midori and dash of simple syrup and ice and shake it but don't break it! Take your chilled champagne flute and doublestrain your mixture in the glass. Then, carefully layer the champagne (I used sparkling wine) on top of the base liquids. Again, be careful when adding sparkling wine to something sugary, it'll foam like crazy.

At this point you can either use dried cranberries (their way) or one cocktail cherry (my way) and drop them in the drink. A beautiful contrast between green/red. Some stir the drink once for the ingredients to mix but I left it as it was. Better that way.

This was an interesting cocktail. Especially towards the end the flavors from the cucumber and midori...they work! A dry beginning with a sweet after-taste. Not bad. Not bad at all!

French 75

FRENCH 75

Are you ready for a special drink? Because this classic one sure is one! Introducing the French 75. I've longed for this cocktail for such a long time now and finally...finally I had the opportunity to create this truly fantastic cocktail!

• 2 cl fresh lemon juice
• 2 cl simple syrup
• 4.5 cl gin
• champagne (or sparkling wine)
• lemon twist for garnish

Before we start, some recipes substitute the gin for cognac (being the "French" 75, not the British 75), but either way it is fine. Just note that using quality cognac will of course alter the taste of this cocktail. I used gin, though.

Shake the first three ingredients in a cocktail shaker with plenty of ice and (double)strain into a champagne flute (a tall tom collins glass will do just fine, if you don't have a flute). Top the drink with the sparkling wine and decorate with a lemon twist. Remember that the sparkling wine will react with the sugar causing heavy foaming so pour it gently and carefully. Also, I used a rather large slice of lemon peel and given, it does look more beautiful in the drink than just a small twist.

Taste-wise. Phoooie! Just amazing. A perfect harmony I must say! This is definitely a drink for brunch or a good social event. You can't go wrong with the French 75.

Dry Martini

DRY MARTINI

Probably the most iconic cocktail of all time, the Martini has arrived! I here-by present you with the classic dry version of it. Before we get down to business, there are numerous ways you can do it. The relative proportion of vermouth to gin varies depending on how you like yours to be done. I always remember my mother saying how a bartender made the martini extra dry; he just showed the bottle of vermouth to the customer before proceeding in making the cocktail meaning he did not even use vermouth to begin with! A copy-pasted story from Wikipedia tells how Noël Coward suggested that the ideal martini should be made by "filling the glass with gin then waving it in the general direction of Italy." That's some crazy shit right there...

Nonetheless, this is how I made this:

• roughly 2.5 cl dry vermouth
• 5 cl gin

I did some preparations before-hand. I had my mixing glass in the fridge, likewise the vermouth and gin were both there. I also added some ice cubes in my cocktail glass and filled it with water. Basically, all of my ingredients and tools were properly chilled.

First, I filled my mixing glass with ice and poured over the vermouth. I then stirred it only a couple of times before discarding the vermouth. My ice now had that aromatic flavor from the fortified wine I used, but none of it is included in the final product.

I then added the gin and stirred the drink for about 20-25 seconds, chilling it well (and giving some dilution in the process). I discarded the ice-water mixture from the cocktail glass and strained my gin in it.

Finally I cut a piece of lemon peel, pressed the essential oils over the drink, gently rubbed the peel around the rim of the glass and dropped it in.

The classic martini.

Now a few words about the drink and its taste. When I was a young boy, I remember I ordered this drink at a restaurant. At that time it tasted like crap. Fair enough, my taste buds had not developed yet. But now...well I'll be damned, this was something completely different! The lemon peel freshened this cocktail up by the magnitude of a thousand! Albeit being "only gin in a glass", I could easily drink this without grinning.

Visually this cocktail is aesthetic, beautiful, elegant, simple and complex in flavors. Classy as fuck.

Airmail Cocktail

The Airmail cocktail

Good morning everyone! This morning I tried something completely "different". How does a mix of rum and champagne sound like? My thoughts exactly. After this cocktail I've come to the conclusion that either I:

1. Used wrong ingredients when creating this
2. Don't like the mix of rum and champagne

Either way, I present you the Airmail cocktail. Many sites have different proportions of how much you need  of each ingredient. This is what I used:

• 1.5 cl honey syrup (to make honey syrup, use the same amount of honey and hot water, stir until consistent)
• 1.5 cl lemon juice (many imply the use of lime juice)
• 5 cl white rum (many imply the use of rhum agricole)
• champagne, sparkling wine, etc...

Combine the three first ingredients, shake with plenty of ice and strain into a coupe glass. As seen in the picture, I had a cocktail glass. Top off with brut champagne (or sparkling wine, whatever you have in hand at the moment).

Now that I think of it. I have probably fudged things up to begin with. But regarding this cocktail, not much to say. The rum and champagne mix does not quite cut it. This is definitely a cocktail I should either work on more to perfect it...or just ditch it as a bad one. I mean, not every classic cocktail is good just because of its "classiness".

On the positive side...I can drink the rest of the champagne on its own.

Cointreau Fizz

Cointreau Fizz

Another perfect summer drink that has been tested already! Introducing the Cointreau Fizz. A perfect mix of both sweet and sour, getting a bottle of Cointreau just for these is worth the trouble!

• 5 cl Cointreau (triple sec)
• half a lime
• 10 cl club soda (carbonated water [not mineral water])

Cut the lime half into four pieces and muddle them in the glass. Then fill the glass with crushed ice, pour in the Cointreau and soda. Give the drink a few gentle stirs so the ingredients properly mix and top the cocktail with more ice, if needed. Add a straw and if you want to garnish this, a lime wedge will do just fine.

I didn't have a soda streamer so I had to get myself a bottle of fancy-ass carbonated water...you could substitute it with mineral water (pellegrino for instance), but the cocktail will soak in flavors from it. Thus if all able, prefer club soda.

Just let the sunshine in...

Irish Car Bomb

IRISH CAR BOMB

Continuing our beer cocktail show, here's another "classic" example how beer can be used in cocktails. Enter the Irish Car Bomb. Without going too much into the history of this drink, I just want to mention that the original version had Kahlúa instead of Baileys; this one is the more common one seen today:

• ½ a pint of Guinness
• 4 cl of Baileys Irish Cream
• 1 cl of Irish whiskey (I used Jameson, but any Irish blend will do fine)

Fill the shot glass with Baileys and layer the whiskey on top of it. Then drop that shot in the glass of Guinness and drink fast. Fast, because the baileys will curdle rather quickly (as seen in the last picture).

A really interesting drink. The nutty flavors from the baileys gave an excellent finish to this cocktail. The Irish Car bomb is a good party starter, a better dessert drink but most of all, a quick way to get wasted.

Black Velvet

BLACK VELVET

2013

Black velvet and that little boy's smile

Black velvet with that slow southern style

A new religion that'll bring her to your knees

Black velvet if you please

- Alannah Myles, Black Velvet

2016, three and a half years later

Introducing a beer cocktail, one of the few I personally know (along with the Snakebite), which proves to be a worthy drink indeed! Given, this drink's history goes back to the late 19th century, created to mourn the death of Prince Albert. Here's how to make one;

• Guinness (stout beer)
• Champagne

First pour the glass halfway with Guinness and then gently pour the Champagne (using the back of a [bar]spoon helps) along the side of the glass (or just tilt the glass enough) to create two separate layers, as shown in the picture.

For this cocktail I specifically wanted to by champagne, I had a small bottle of Baron-Fuenté Grande Reserve. To my surprise it had more sweetness to it than I had imagined. I enjoyed one of these with my good friend and given, as a layered cocktail this was very beautiful but having this mixed a little bit really gave this drink more taste.

I personally liked it. I did have some (negative) expectations how this would go down but yes, the combination did work well after all! I would say that  whether you want to have this with a good (chocolaty) dessert or just feeling fancy, trying one of these is definitely an experience you shouldn't miss.

Mah-jong

MAH-JONG

Greetings again! Tonight's cocktail has absolutely nothing to do with the Chinese game, but having one of these sure is (at least as much) fun!

Simple ingredients, only the decoration might take a little while to make:

• 4 cl gin
• 1 cl Cointreau
• 1 cl white rum
• a long orange peel

Combine the alcohols in a glass with plenty of ice and stir for about 20-30 seconds. Strain into a cocktail glass and here's the tricky part; the decoration.

Use a channel knife to cut a long strip of orange peel and swirl it into a spiral. Don't use a straw to twist the peel around it, it makes the peel look like a spring. Twisting it around itself e.g. on a cutting board gives better results; better looking.

But how did this taste? I'm not a huge fan of gin, but the cointreau gave just enough sweetness to it for me to enjoy it. The rum on the other hand, I couldn't really taste it at all.

Visually this is a very nice cocktail though! One of the most aesthetic cocktails I've made so far, no doubt about that!  

The Jägerbomb

JÄGERBOMB

Well, it's time for a Jägerdrink once again! One of the classic "drop a shot X in a glass of Y", the Jägerbomb is really one of the better ones out there. So what do you need for a perfect Jägerbomb?

• one shot of Jägermeister
• half a pint of energy drink

First fill a glass half way with energy drink as shown in the upper most left picture and ready yourself with a shot of Jägermeister. Now comes the bomb; drop the shot in the glass and drink!

A truly great party drink. You can also enjoy one these as a long drink, where you prepare a high ball glass full of ice, add the Jägermeister (I prefer ice cold) and top up with energy drink. No garnish necessary.

Prost!

Amaretto Sour

Amaretto Sour

In a perfect world, cocktails are perfect too. While I'm not a perfect cocktail mixologist, I strive to create cocktails that taste excellent, look amazing and leave a good impression to both the maker and the drinker. This is one of them...

The Amaretto Sour.

Inspired by Jeffrey Morgenthaler, I picked up the challenge and created an Amaretto Sour he perfected.

• 4.5 cl Amaretto
• 2.25 cl bourbon
• 3 cl fresh lemon juice
• 0.5 cl simple syrup
• 1.5 cl egg white (a tad less than one egg white whole, unless a small egg)

Combine everything in a cocktail shaker and dry shake first roughly for a little while. After this add plenty of ice and shake again. Double strain into a tumbler filled with ice. Decoration-wise, there are a few options proper for this cocktail; lemon/orange zest/wedge or a maraschino cherry.¨

As a big fan of Amaretto and a big fan of sours, this cocktail is almost as good as the Boston Sour, but still manages to plunge into my top cocktail list.

Caipirinha

CAIPIRINHA

Caipirinha in 2013

Caipirinha in 2016, pretty much exactly three years later

It all started in the summer, 2009, when I made this drink. Well, not per se, back then I made a Caipiroska where I substituted the Pitú needed to make this for vodka.

Almost four years after I now made the "original" version, the Caipirinha. Still as simple as ever, all you need is (love):

• 5 cl of Pitú (cachacha) (2016 version was Ypioca)
• ½ a lime, quartered + a wedge for garnish
• 2 - 2½ tea spoons of granulated cane sugar

Muddle the sugar, half a lime (which has been quartered) and the cachaca in a tumbler. Add some ice and in a churning kind-of-motion mix the ingredients. Add more ice if needed. Finally, stick a few straws and if you want to decorate your drink, a lime wedge will do the trick.

That's it! I really enjoyed the sweet-sour taste this cocktail has and the Pitú's distinctive flavor gives quite the edge to it! This is a good summer drink or better yet a small party drink, if you mind the work.

Editor's Note 2016:

This cocktail is the shit! After a proper Caipirinha a vodka-based -roska will never substitute this beauty! The perfect summer time's drink!

The Lemon Drop

The Lemon Drop

After a day break from cocktails (I was donating blood today so I can't have any alcohol the previous day) I  continue my work of cocktails with a drink that (supposedly) is rather (in)famous in the States. At least this is the picture I had when I first read about it. The recipe I used now could probably be tweaked into perfection; I found this cocktail to be mediocre...It...just didn't cut my top cocktail's list.

• 5 cl (Citron) flavored vodka
• 2 cl lemon juice
• 1 tea spoon granulated sugar

Combine these ingredients in a shaker, add ice and shake this cocktail longer than usually (because of the sugar that needs to be dissolved). (double)strain into a chilled cocktail glass and decorate with a lemon twist.

As said earlier, I can't really tell what's the "big deal" (if any) about this cocktail. Apparently this is supposed to taste like lemon drop candies, but...this wasn't really that good of a drink overall.

Classic Champange Cocktail

Classic Champagne Cocktail

It is time for a Monday after-work cocktail! The Classic Champagne Cocktail (CCC...okay I made that one up).

I admit I especially bought two champagne flutes in order to create this cocktail. Although I'm bigger fan of those "old fashioned champagne saucers", these kind of flutes are good for champagne cocktail making (and others too, as far as I know). Moreover, a tall flute is better at keeping the bubbles in the drink whereas the saucer's wideness releases those bubbles quicker.

But what is a classic champagne cocktail then? How does it differ from a "regular" champagne cocktail? One thing, for that matter. The cognac. A champagne cocktail consists of angostura bitters, one sugar cube and champagne (sparkling wine), a classic is made as follows:

• 30 ml cognac
• 1 sugar cube
• angostura bitters
• champagne to top off (or sparking wine like I did, preferrably brut [dry])
• a lemon twist for garnish

First pour in the cognac in the flute. Then add your champagne but leave some space for the sugar cube (it will make the cocktail foam a bit). Now here have some options how to soak our sugar cube in angostura. Some like to use a napkin and put the cube on it, add the angostura, wait a while and then drop it in the cocktail but you can also use this:

Hold the cube tightly on top of the angostura bottle and turn it once or twice to fully soak it. Remember to have a large enough cube to cover the whole bottle! (mine spilled a little bit). Then take the cube and drop it in the drink. The cocktail will foam but as you can see from the picture it looks very beautiful! Use a long lemon twist to garnish your master piece (cut the zest near the glass so the essential oils will spray to your drink) and there you have it, the 

Classic Champagne Cocktail. For any special occasion.

I liked this cocktail very much. The cognac rounded the sparking wine's taste perfectly + I especially liked how the dissolving sugar cube made the cocktail sweeter to the end!

The Passionate Benedict

THE PASSIONATE BENEDICT

Hello again! Here is a cocktail requested by my wife I personally ended up liking a lot. I call it the Passionate Benedict. I had to make her something new and on the sweeter side. Thanks to my good friend, who brought me a bottle of Passoã, I realized now was my chance. This version seen in the picture was my first try and with a small tweak here are the ingredients:

• 4 cl Passoa
• 1 cl D.O.M Benedictine herbal liquor
• 1 cl peach schnapps
• 6 cl orange/mango/passion juice
• lime wedge for garnish

The first time I had the ingredient amounts as follows: 4/2/2/8 but it ended up being a bit too much for the glass.

Simply fantastic. Even with only 1 cl of D.O.M, the herbal notes are still clearly tastable. The peach schnapps and Passoã give a nice exotic taste and the orange juice (in the picture it was a mix of orange/mango juice) lengthens the cocktail well. Not to mention how beautiful this cocktail is!

Although I say this from a cocktail I created on the spur of the moment, this was an excellent cocktail indeed!

Benton's Old Fashioned

BENTON'S OLD FASHIONED

(Molecular Mixology!)

This cocktail has been inspired by Jamie Boudreau and the PDT Cocktail Book (2011). What I did:

I fried a lot of bacon on the pan, collected the fat from it (picture 1) (I had to use clarified butter, I explain this later) and mixed it with a cup of Jim Beam bourbon. I let it sit in room temperature for an hour while mixing the concoction a few times (picture 2). After this I put the jar in the freezer for an hour freezing the fat part solid (picture 3). I removed the fat and used coffee filters to strain the now bacon fat - infused bourbon into a clean, sterile bottle (picture 4 and 5)

This bourbon I then used to make a Benton's Old Fashioned!

• 5 cl fat-infused bourbon
• 1 cl maple syrup
• dash angostura bitters
• orange zest/twist for garnish

Stir the ingredients well in the mixing glass. Strain into a tumbler filled with ice and garnish with a (flamed) orange zest.

I really liked this cocktail! I'm a big fan of Old Fashioneds and this cocktail really convinced me. I could clearly taste the bacon from the bourbon and the maple syrup's sweetness combined with the essential oils from the orange...nice.

Summa summarum, I had fun making a rather different kind of cocktail. If I ever were to do this again, I would use different kind of bacon and most likely an oven instead of a frying pan.

Manhattan

MANHATTAN

Another classic cocktail originating from the 19th century! The Manhattan! Similar to the Rob Roy, a Manhattan is a mix of whiskey, sweet vermouth and bitters. I used Jim Beam bourbon in this one.

• 5 cl bourbon (Jim Beam)
• 2 cl sweet vermouth
• dash angostura bitters
• a cocktail cherry for garnish

In a glass, stir all of the ingredients with plenty of ice. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with a cocktail cherry. 

A perfect mix. I really enjoyed this cocktail. The vermouth really compliments the bourbon! I personally think the Manhattan is a wonderful pre-dinner cocktail. In addition, like its Scottish cousin the Rob Roy, this cocktail can easily modified with dry vermouth or using both dry and sweet vermouth making it a Perfect Manhattan.

Aviation

AVIATION

Yet another classic cocktail in front of your eyes! I've actually made one of these earlier, like a long time ago but alas, never took a picture of it. But here it is, the Aviation:

5 cl gin

1.5 cl maraschino liquor

1.5 cl lemon juice

~1 cl crème de violette, but I used Parfait amour instead, does the trick too. (+ crème de violette is very hard to come by these days)

1 cocktail cherry for decoration

Except for the cherry, add all of the ingredients in a cocktail shaker, add ice and shake vigorously. Double strain into a well chilled cocktail glass and drop the cherry in the middle of the glass! Done!

What I did in addition to this, I added a dash of parfait amour afterwards in the middle of this cocktail to create that pink hue color. As you can see, this cocktail is really beautiful in its essence.

Taste-wise, amazing! I could easily distinct all of the different flavors and at the same time this cocktail was sweet, sour and bitter. How can you go wrong with this? You can't!

No wonder this cocktail made it to the classics. Aviation, I salute you!