What's a cocktail?
Even if at the beginning of the 19th century a cocktail designated precisely a mixture of alcohols, water, sugar and bitters, today a cocktail has become a very general term to designate a mixture of at least two drinks, alcoholic or not.
What material?To make your own cocktails like a pro, you will of course need to equip yourself a little. The necessary equipment is at least composed of: a shaker, an ice strainer, an ice tongs, a mixing spoon, a pestle and a measuring cup. There are complete kits with all the necessary hardware.
The shaker is used to chill and mix, the colander is used to filter the ice remaining in the shaker, the tongs are used to take ice cubes and solid ingredients, the long mixing spoon is used to mix the ingredients in the glasses, the pestle is used to crush mint or fruit in particular, and the graduated dispenser is used, as its name suggests, to properly dose liquid ingredients.
What are the production techniques?There are several techniques for making a cocktail: directly in the glass, in the shaker, in the blender or in the mixing glass. The first 3 techniques are quite self-explanatory, but be aware that the so-called "mixing glass" technique consists of mixing all the drinks in a large dedicated glass with ice cubes and using a large mixing spoon, before pouring the content in the final glass.
What are the types of cocktails?Knowing the types of cocktails is absolutely not essential to make them, but know that there are many types of cocktails divided into 2 main categories: "short drinks" and "long drinks".
- "Short drinks" are cocktails of small capacity (generally less than 10cl), mainly composed of alcohols and therefore stronger. Types of short drinks include after dinner, daisies, flips, and sours .
- "Long drinks" are cocktails of larger capacity, generally lengthened with fruit juice or sodas, and therefore sweeter. Types of long drinks include collins, fizzes, coolers or juleps for best known.
You are now familiar with the technical terms of the bartender, you can now navigate quietly on our site where you will see on each recipe page its detailed realization technique, its type, its preparation time, its glassware, and the appropriate equipment for make your own cocktails like a bar pro!