The Bartender's Best Friend
A Complete Guide to Cocktails, Martinis, and Mixed Drinks
Chapter One
Bartending Basics
Making a cocktail has just four requirements. The first three
are easy: You need ingredients-the spirits, the juices, the ice,
the sodas, the garnishes. You need equipment-a shaker, a
strainer, a spoon. And you need something to serve the drink
in, be it the finest lead crystal cocktail glass or a paper cup.
The fourth requirement, however, is the tough one. You need to
understand how to use these elements, and, ideally, you must
acquire a grasp of how they intermingle. And therein lies the
rub: You can make drinks or you can master drink-making, the
craft of bartending. The choice is yours; the basics are outlined
here. Mastering the craft requires thought, effort, and just like
getting to Carnegie Hall-practice, practice, practice.
Equipment
Tools and the methods of using them define the quality of the
job performed. And just as a carpenter invests in his saws, a
chef in hi ... read full excerpt from The Bartender's Best Friend: A Complete Guide to Cocktails, Martinis, and Mixed Drinks ebook
