The Most Important Rule of Cocktail Craft

TASTE. TASTE EVERYTHING. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

Sure, it looks great, but DID YOU TASTE IT?

This seems so absolutely basic and not-needing-said, but you’d be shocked how many people just send out their drinks without having ever tried them, just on blind faith that their recipe, never mind that specific drink, is perfect.

Note: Taste is relative- everyone has a different palette, so there’s always a bit of tweaking to the customers taste (I generally enquire as to what the customer‘s preference is- sweet to sour, short and punchy or long and softer), but every drink you send out should have had a taste using the cocktail sample method.

First step- Cocktail creation. In the design stage, play around as much as you can to find just the right balance as you see it, test and taste it thoroughly, yourself and with any others willing, then make sure every one you send out matches to this standard and taste. Set your Golden Standard, and hold every drink to that.

Even if it’s not your menu, take the time to learn it to this level.

Secondly, quality is such an essential component of quality cocktails, but even more important than that is consistency - being able to deliver that same level of quality

Every. Single. Time.

We’ve all forgot the odd ingredient here or there at some point in our career, and while it is generally caught and noticed fairly easily with colour and even the amount of liquid post-shake, it’s a lot harder to notice a lack of a small ingredient- a little cointreau in a margarita or a splash of bitters in a manhattan. Taste, taste again if unsure, know the flavours individually and as a composite so you can pick out that missing ingredient without missing a beat. Know how your drink should taste and keep matching that every single time and you’ll never have a sendback.

Again, I apologise if this comes across as massively simplistic or even a little condescending, but I can’t highlight enough how critical this basic step is. Follow this rule, take it into you in whatever way works best for you. Your craft will be improved so much for this.

4 Brambles- guess how many drinks I tested here?