COCKTAILS (MIXOLOGY)

The word mixology usually refers to a bartenders knowledge and skill, but a manager must know everything a bartender knows and more. The term Mixology is typically defined as the art or skill of mixing drinks containing alcohol. It includes the techniques of the bartender, which do indeed require skill and sometimes art, and it also includes the knowledge that backs up the skill. The bartender must know the drinks by name, the ingredients, the mixing methods, and the way they are served. The term mixed drink includes any drink in which one alcoholic beverage is a mixed with another or others, or with one or more non-alcoholic ingredient. This includes cocktails, highball, tall drinks, frozen drinks, coffee drinks, and almost every other bar product except a glass of beer or wine or a straight shot of whisky or brandy. Cocktails were first concocted in America and have always been popular there. They came to Britain in the 1920s and had a flourish for about 20years, before loosing popular appeal. The increasing affluence of the 1980s brought changes in social and drinking habits. Many older people stopped going out for a drink in the evenings. The young had money and took their place, but many wanted something more glamorous to drink than ale and stout. So, the cocktails that drink of nostalgia and instant sophistication re-emerged. Cocktail bars and high profile clubs proliferated. Pubs, Bistro (a place where drinks are served and music also plays) bars and cafes jumped on the bandwagons of this success and introduced the elastic happy hour or cocktail hour when cocktails and some nominated drinks could be bought at a reduced or half price. The common ingredients of a cocktail are: i. An alcoholic base (which gives flavor and personality) ii. Ice (Crushed, Cubes or shaved i.e. frappe) iii. Soft drinks iv. Fruit juices (as fresh as possible, but tomato puree used in Bloody Mary than fresh tomato juice) v. Dairy products (cream, milk, egg - stored at temp. below 40O F) vi. Sugar syrup (syrup because granules take more time to dissolve) vii. Lime Juice viii. Salt, Pepper, Spices, Tabasco, Nutmeg, Cinnamon etc. ix. Bitters x. Worcestershire sauce. The different ways of preparing cocktail or types of cocktail: 1. BUILT UP COCKTAILS: - In this type of preparation, the ingredients are added or poured into the glass according to the specific gravity of the ingredients. The ingredients are poured over the back of a spoon into a glass to form layers.

The ingredients are so chosen that they have proportionate specific gravity. For example Pousse caf, Planters punch, Rusty nail, Screwdriver, Tequila Sunrise, Black Russian, Old Fashioned etc. 2. STIRRED COCKTAILS: - The ingredients are mixed first in a mixing glass and then poured into the serving glass through a Hawthorne strainer. These contain ingredients, which are mostly thin and clear. Example: Martini, Manhattan etc. 3. Shaken / Blended / Mixed Cocktails: - All the ingredients are put into a cocktail shaker and vigorously shaken and then poured through a strainer into the serving glass. These are cocktails, which contain thick or cloudy ingredients such as - cream, eggs, fruit juices, etc. Examples: 1. All sours: Whisky sour, Gimlet, Daiquiri. 2. Slings: -Singapore Sling, High Time, Zombie. 3. Cream Drinks: -Brandy Alexander, Pink Lady, Grasshopper.