We love this idea! Check out the tips from Chris Ojeda below. Click through for a Bottled Americano recipe.
TIPS
Stay Strong. When choosing cocktails to carbonate and bottle, stick with high-proof, spirit-forward drinks think Manhattan, Negroni and the Americano, and avoid bottling ones with citrus juices since those flavors can change over time and are less shelf-stable.
Keep Cool. Bubbles are more lively when the drink you’re carbonating is super-cold, so combine all ingredients ahead and refrigerate for at least two hours before charging with CO2.
Don’t Overfill. Make sure you leave room in the neck of the bottle just in case it tries to fizz over when you open it. And store capped, carbonated bottles in the fridge since the cold air helps hold the bubbles.
Great article from Simon Ford about tipping your bartender for those days when you’re out for a cocktail or two (or more).
From crowded dive bars to table service to cocktail lounges — where bartenders spend three or four minutes to make your fine cocktail — tipping has gotten complicated. On top of that, the bartender might give you a drink on the house (what do you do then?) or you may be abroad and not know the local etiquette. There’s no doubt that navigating tipping culture can be confusing for even the most experienced drinkers.
Getting ready to start your summer this Memorial Day? Here’s a quick and decent list from Mark Bittman & the NYT on some easy drinks to sip all summer long.
Twelve Uncomplicated Summer Cocktails: Mixing a good drink requires a bit of care, but anyone can do it.
(Beware: if you’re looking for rum, this collection has none )
This is a really well done video on how to use a Boston Shaker. It’s well explained and he takes his time to go over the details. Worth watching if you’re looking for a “How to”
I’ve always used the Hawthorne spring method, but click through to the original article to get two new ideas from some well respected bartenders.
The key to a good egg-based drink, i.e., proper emulsification, can be hard to achieve.
It is sometimes accomplished with a technique called the dry shake, in which the cocktail is shaken first without ice, then shaken once more with ice added.
Even then, emulsification can take forever, as evidenced by the Ramos Gin Fizz. The directions for this classic egg-white cocktail call for excessive dry-shaking of two or three minutes. Consider it the busy bartender’s nightmare.
So it’s no surprise that enterprising bar folk have found ways to cut corners. Here, two of our favorite tips for making your favorite fizz or flip.
In an age of complicated bar maneuvers, the methodology is mind-bendingly simple: Just throw a grapefruit twist in with the contents of a cocktail, then shake and strain. Continue
In an age of complicated bar maneuvers, the methodology is mind-bendingly simple: Just throw a grapefruit twist in with the contents of a cocktail, then shake and strain.
Lanterns Keep co-owner Theo Lieberman came to the idea after a particularly long and stressful day. Since his mother had used grapefruit oils as a homeopathic remedy during his childhood, he threw a peel in with his daiquiri components. The results were surprising: “It dried the drink out, made it smoother,” he says.
…some resolutions are easy to stick to – like taking your cocktails to a whole new level by avoiding the simple mixology mistakes made by so many. Continue
…some resolutions are easy to stick to – like taking your cocktails to a whole new level by avoiding the simple mixology mistakes made by so many.
Sure, there’s no accounting for taste when it comes to drinking, but these missteps are some of the main reasons people are convinced they can’t get a good drink anywhere but the bar – and even then it’s rare! So make 2011 a banner year one drink at a time and avoid these rookie mistakes.
You’ve seen it used in bars, you’ve heard it mentioned in videos, and you’ve read about it in articles and recipes – but what exactly IS a Boston Shaker? Continue
You’ve seen it used in bars, you’ve heard it mentioned in videos, and you’ve read about it in articles and recipes – but what exactly IS a Boston Shaker?
Description
At its simplest, a Boston Shaker is a two-piece cocktail shaker, usually consisting of a glass and a metal tin.
A useful and common combination is a 16 oz. Mixing Glass or Pint Glass, and a 28 oz. Shaker Tin.
Some bartenders like using a 16 or 18 oz. shaker tin in place of the mixing glass half of the Boston Shaker.
Use
The Boston Shaker can be used for shaking or stirring a cocktail. This is part of the reason it’s so popular with professionals – it’s a multi-tasker.
When using a Boston Shaker you’ll need a strainer to keep the ice and other non-liquid ingredients out of the drink while you pour it into the appropriate serving glass. There are two types of strainers for the Boston Shaker.
The Hawthorn Strainer – This is the style with the coil around the edge. You place it in the metal half of the Boston Shaker, coil side down, so it can hold back the ice while you pour your shaken drink into the glass.
The Julep Strainer – This is the style that looks like a large spoon with holes in it. It’s used with the glass half of the shaker, or your mixing glass, when pouring a drink that has been stirred. It’s placed dome or curved side up into the glass and is held in place by your index finger while pouring.
There’s another post coming about the differences between shaking and stirring, so stay tuned for more info.
How to separate a Boston Shaker
Below you can see a video I did for how2heroes.com illustrating how to shake a cocktail by making a Margarita.
Although I don’t go into the opening techniques in detail, and I’ve learned a bit since then, it’s worth an overall viewing to watch the process of using a Boston Shaker for shaken cocktails. (I still hate those damn limes – they were like bricks!)
Here’s a few links to some videos that illustrate in a bit more detail.
Jaime Boudreau does a super video on Shaking a cocktail. Right around the 2 minute mark he goes into great detail on how to open the Boston Shaker. It’s really educational and totally worth the time to check it out.
How to Use a Cocktail Shaker by Duggan McDonnell on chow.com talks about setting the shaker tin at an angle to facilitate an easy release.
Reference
Not enough info for you? Here’s a few reference links below:
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