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Cocktail Basics

The Terminology of Mixology - Essential Ingredients and Skills

Apr 9, 2008 Dulcinea Norton-Smith

There are some basics of cocktail making and ingredients that are essential to know in order to create the perfect drink. Here is some of the terminology.

Most etymologists believe that the word 'cocktail' derives from the word 'coquetel' which is a French wine based drink. Mixed drinks have been around since ancient times and cocktails in some form or another since the sixteenth century. They became fashionable again during the 1920s as bootleg alcohol tasted so foul that it had to be mixed with a variety of other ingredients to make it palatable. Cocktails enjoyed a second wind in the 1970s as people began to 'chill out' and a plethora of new ingredients and spirits from around the world became available.

Today cocktails enjoy a permanent place on the menu in most bars and hotels.

The Ingredients

It would take a lot of money and time to have a pantry stocked with every ingredient you could possibly need for every cocktail but there are some added extras which are used in a lot of cocktails that are worth having.

Salt, pepper and chilli (yes really!)
Sugar syrup. This can be made by dissolving 4 tablespoons of water and 4 tablespoons of sugar in a small pan then bring to the boil for two minutes. Cool fully before using it and keep in the refrigerator.
Angostura bitters: rum based bitters from Trinidad
Worcestershire sauce
Lemon, glace or maraschino cherries, orange, lime, olives and cocktail sticks for decoration
Commonly used mixers: soda water, ginger ale, tonic water, cola, lemonade, orange juice and cranberry
Commonly used alcohol: white wine, sparkling wine/ champagne, vodka, rum, brandy, scotch whisky, bourbon, triple sec, vermouth, tequila and gin

Unless you are planning a cocktail party the most sensible option is to choose two or three cocktails you might like and stock for those. To stay economical try to choose cocktails with the same alcoholic base.

The Equipment

As Bond says “shaken not stirred”. Two of the most important pieces of equipment are a shaker and a stirrer. A shaker is most often in a flask style shape with two lids. The inner lid is perforated and on top of it goes a real lid. This allows the cocktail ingredients and ice to be shaken together then the cocktail poured out through the inner lid leaving the ice behind. A stirrer is usually a long handled spoon with a strainer at the end to do much the same job as the perforated lid on a shaker.
A mixing glass is usually a wide rimmed jug made of clear glass in which cocktails can be stirred
Measuring cups/ spoons, a zester, a corkscrew, a bottle opener, a sharp knife and a chopping board all come in handy

For some great cocktail recipes check out the cocktail section of Suite 101 or try the book The Cocktail Bible by Linda Doeser (publisher :Paragon 2001 ISBN: 0752558811)

The copyright of the article Cocktail Basics in Beer, Cocktails & Beverages is owned by Dulcinea Norton-Smith. Permission to republish Cocktail Basics in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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