Section Six ~ Barmanship
In this section, Mario explains all the special touches that separate a great bartender from a good bartender. It’s not just the choice of liquor, the mixes, or the beautiful glassware that can win over your party; it’s also the little things that have big and lasting impact. There are “tricks of the trade” that can be learned to take your soirées up a notch.
Icemanship: The main thing to remember, the colder the ice the better it is. And when you use crushed or chipped ice it will be colder than cubed ice because there is more ice surface caressing the liquid. This section on ice is fairly long, but the gist of it is you must have cold ice, clean ice (use bottled water if your tap water is gross), and dry ice (don’t let it sit and melt in a bucket).
Punch Bowl Ice: Find something like an ice cream pail and fill it with clean water. Freeze it the day before your party. Then, on the day of your party, run warm water on the sides and loosen it into your punch bowl. I did this one year for a Halloween party, but I filled a glove with red water so that a hand was sitting in the punch bowl.
Aquavit In Ice: At smorgasbord parties, Mario says it is customary to serve a bottle of Aquavit or Vodka in a block of ice. He suggests cutting the top off a 2-quart milk carton, putting the bottle inside and then freezing it. The alcohol won’t freeze, just the water surrounding the bottle. When frozen you should be able to peel away the paper carton, leaving a beautiful clear ice bottle. Keep putting it back in the freezer after you pour shots.
Frappéed Ice Cap: A frappé after a great meal can be a welcome sight over heavy cakes and custards. Try putting finely crushed ice into a champagne saucer and then pouring liqueurs on top for a delicious and refreshing treat.
Chilling Glasses: It is so important to have a thoroughly chilled cocktail glass before you pour anything into it. There are three ways to do this: chill in the freezer ahead of time, bury the glass in ice for a few minutes, or fill the glass with ice and swish it around before dumping.
Frosting Glasses: If you want a longer-lasting cold effect, run water over your cocktail glasses and then store them in the freezer for at least a couple hours.
Sugar-frosting Glasses: We eat and drink with our eyes first. So Mario suggests you make your sweet drink even more appealing by giving it a frosted rim. There are a few ways to do this. First, you can take a lemon or orange wedge and run it along the rim of the glass, then dip it rim down onto a saucer of superfine sugar. Second, you can rub the rind of the orange and lemon on the glass before dipping. Third, you can dip the rim into a saucer of grenadine or liqueur before you dip into the sugar. However you do it, make sure you remember that frosted rims are to be sipped from the glass and not enjoyed with a straw.
Preparing Peel: If you will be using peel as garnish, make sure you cut it close to when you need it to ensure the oils stay their freshest.
Simple Syrup: It is mostly preferred to use simple syrup over sugar, to ensure a more velvety smooth character in your drink. It’s easy to make and stores fairly well, equip your bar with some.
The Dairy Bar: Okay, get over your tendency to get “light” cream. When a drink calls for cream, it needs to be heavy cream. Your hips may not thank you, but your lips will. And in my opinion, creamy drinks should be looked at like a dessert, you won’t want to drink too many of them. Also, remember that when you mix cream into anything acidic, it will start to curdle. So it’s best to make those types of drinks as close to serving as you can. And always check the expiry date on your dairy before you use it.
A Good Egg: Always crack your egg into a dish before putting into a drink to check the freshness.
Filling The Shaker: Ice goes in first, so that all the additional ingredients get to slither down it. Mario thinks there are a few good habits to learn when shaking drinks, besides ice going first. You should also try and add the liquor last. That way you will never put too much in, in case you forgot if you added it before the juice or not. Additionally, he says you should put the amount of glasses you are making in front of you, to keep track of how many shots should go in the shaker. And finally, leave enough room in the shaker for the most important thing, the shaking. If it’s filled to the brim, not much will move around in there.
Measuring: If you are having a “pour-it-yourself” bar, let guests pour as much as they like. Here’s hoping your guests have manners. But when you are mixing the drinks, always use the jigger.
Stirring: For some drinks, you want clarity. Such as the Martini or Gimlet. So these are often stirred. Though the worse that can happen if you shake them is they will be cloudy for a few minutes. It is suggested that when you stir a batch of cocktails you should give it 20 rotations, to ensure dilution. Though if carbonated liquids are added it should be less.
Shaking: This quote from the section sums it up, “shake the shaker, not yourself.” (the photo of Chaplin is one of my favourite of his moments, where he shakes himself instead of the shaker)
And always rinse the shaker between rounds.
Pouring: When you shake drinks, pour them right away so that the shaker doesn’t become “a watery grave.” Make sure you don’t fill it past a ¼ of an inch from the rim. For wine, you want to leave enough room for swirling. In Brandy snifters, 1-½ ounces is the maximum. Think ahead if you are using garnish to allow for room so the drink doesn’t spill over. And if you are filling more than one glass, line them up rim to rim, fill them all half way and then top up evenly.
Horse’s Neck: This is when you have the peel of an entire orange or lemon in one continuous spiral.
Floating Liqueurs: When layering a shot or drink, you need to know which ones are the heaviest. The heavy ones go in first and the lighter ones will float on top. You can either dribble liqueurs down an inverted spoon on top of the previous layer, down a mixing rod, or directly into the glass. The main thing is to do it slowly!
Flaming Liquors: When you want the spectacle of fire, it can be fun to bring flame to alcohol. Mario says we should heat up the liquor first, not boil it, to burn off some of the alcohol before setting a quiet little blaze. But lately, I think we have all heard that the alcohol doesn’t actually burn off…so maybe warming it up just eases the flame?
Drink Garnishes: There are two kinds. Some are there to amplify the aroma and taste, while others are just there to look pretty. Here are some essential drink garnishes:
Almonds – slice or julienne them, toast beforehand, sprinkle with salt and then cool.
Bananas – cut firm and ripe bananas, dip in tart fruit juice to keep from darkening.
Fresh Cherries – remove stems and pits.
Whole Coconut – use as a vessel for rum drinks, cut off the end opposite the eyes, drain and use.
Cucumber Peel – use sparingly, surprisingly pungent, essential in a Pimms No. 1.
Flowers – beautiful and aromatic, great in summer drinks.
Lemon/Lime/Orange Slices – cut just before using, place either on top of the ice so the aroma hits the nostrils while sipping or place on the rim of glass.
Melons – best to use a melon baller to get melon pieces for garnish.
Mint Leaves – try to get as close to garden fresh that you can, dip into simple syrup and superfine sugar before planting into drink.
Nutmeg – for the best effect buy it whole and grate it fresh.
Pineapple – like coconut it can be used as a vessel, but also it can be cut into sticks or wedges to use as garnish on a rim.
Pomegranate Seeds – use in drinks that have grenadine.
Strawberries – try dipping them into syrup such as grenadine before garnishing a drink.
Tropical Fruit – great for rum drinks, cut into sticks or chunks.
Apparently there is no existing rule about retrieving garnish from your drink. So go ahead and drop balls of melon or strawberry chunks in the glass. You can dig it out with a spoon, straw or your fingers. Some people like to affix the garnish to a toothpick or umbrella for the aesthetic appeal and to make it easier to eat…but in the end it all gets enjoyed.
And thus ends Part One of the book. We’ve learned the etiquette of hosting a party, how to select the right glassware, what essentials to stock your bar with, how to measure, and how to add some flare to your foundation. I can’t wait to see what’s next!
