Periodic bar check

When building up a bar, it's not a bad idea to take stock once in a while. So I'm planning to periodically list all the stuff that has been through this blog (and should theoretically be at our disposal now).
End of the month is as good a moment as any I guess, so this will be the first check.

The bar now holds:

- nothing -


That's a bit meagre, but tomorrow I'll be kicking off with the first (and arguably most important) ingredient.

Rules and tradition

Mixing cocktails is an art. Depending on your viewpoint, it’s either a newcomer or something of the past.

Compared to art forms like sculpture, music and painting, the humble cocktail is just a rookie. The world of high cuisine hasn’t paid much attention to this niche either.

On the other hand, the heyday of the cocktail is far behind us. Where I live, cocktails have never had a solid foothold. Apart from that, more often than not, the bartender is just a temp. Not a skilled professional who knows his or her way around all categories of drinks and knows how to handle a shaker. Premixed drinks don’t help out exactly either.

So cocktails tend to conjure up an image of forgotten times, of men in suits and stylish dames. If it weren’t for the Cosmos in Sex in the City and Mojitos (both already out of vogue), they would be a rare sight in the regular bar scene.

But still, the cocktail has a rich history (and hopefully, a brighter future). With history comes tradition.

I’m not one to take tradition lightly. There’s something gratifying in doing things the way they are supposed to be done. More importantly, some of these traditions have a function. They came into being because they contribute to the best possible result.

Having said that, I must point out that the subtitle of this blog is: ‘Cocktail mixing, the practical way’. It’s not about mixing cocktails in the perfect way. Sure, the point should be to provide a great experience with what’s on hand. But I will accept the limits of a regular home bar and I’ll be taking some shortcuts here and there.

In short, I won’t abide to any rule. Most rules I did find did not hold in all situations anyway.

  

My first cocktail book^* held some rules. Like this one:

·        Don’t mix grain based liquor with wine based liquor.

Right. That even makes the Dry Martini a forbidden combination. Weird.

Or this one:

·        Both a short drink and a long drink should not contain more than 7 cl of strong liquor.

Sometimes this is a useful guideline. But usually the glass size or the recipe should determine the precise volumes.

A lot of sources will point out that you should use quality ingredients: the weakest link in your cocktail can spoil the whole result. While true, this does not mean you should mix with the wickedest quality stuff out there. Some subtleties to a drink will get lost in the mixing. Only upgrade if you really feel it makes a difference.

^*  The Dutch translation of ‘L’Univers des Cocktails’ by Gilbert Delos

So what's the deal?

What do you need to mix cocktails at home? I bet you have some of the stuff that’s necessary. Some people have a shaker… most people haven’t. But some ingredients should be there, maybe even a lot. Still, when browsing a random book or site with cocktail recipes, you’re bound to come across things you’re not equipped for.

So in this blog, we’ll take things slow. We’ll assume you have zip, nada, nothing, zilch, jack, zero…well, you get the idea. And we’ll start building up from there.

In this way, in time, the collection will grow into a respectable home bar. But even before we get to that point, I’ll be discussing recipes that are possible with the stuff we do have.

It’s not a reason to be held back, just a way to guarantee progress: experiment all you want, and don’t hesitate to use anything you just happen to have on hand.

I’ll assume some basics, though. Access to tap water, for example. And a fridge with a freezer (we need to keep some things fresh, and ice might be an important ingredient… we’ll get to that later).

The cat isn’t necessary. But it’s still a good enhancement of any home. Anyway, I digress.

I’ll also assume some basic glassware. We’ll be looking at specific glasses later, but I’m certain you have something lying around.

As an example, here are my all around glasses. They are Picardie glasses, also known as ‘the original French tumbler’. I use them mainly for wine, but they can hold hot and cold drinks. They have a nice retro feel (no wonder, they were designed in 1927) and most drinks won’t get embarrassed being served in them.

But this is just an example. Just browse through your glassware and figure out what could work as a decent vessel.

As you see, a normal kitchen will take care of the proper basics.

No recipes here yet. We can’t mix if we have nothing to mix. But we’ll be in business soon.