NOW EXPERIENCING:Master the art of making cocktails from scratch
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Master the art of making cocktails from scratch

Read time 4 Mins

Posted 23 May 2024

By
Lulu Morris

Squeezing lime into a cocktail

The building blocks you need to mix killer drinks at home.

When you read, you begin with ABC, when you sing you begin with doh, re, me, but is there a solid starting point for making cocktails? Tell us, Maria! Iconic Julie Andrews musicals aside, making cocktails from scratch is a difficult feat. Knowing and understanding how different flavours work together, how fat should be used, how bubbles can alter the drink and just how much dilution needs to go into a cocktail is why it takes bartenders years to hone their craft. Much like bartenders, we’ve all gotta start somewhere, so here are a few tips for your cocktail journey.
Know your classicsKnowing your Martini from your Martinez or your Rob Roy from your Manhattan will take your cocktails from novice to bartender level. Knowing and understanding the various cocktail families, how they came about, their variations and why they work is the most important thing you can do if you wish to make your own cocktails. Think of it this way – you wouldn’t bake a croquembouche if you’ve never touched an oven mitt before. The same applies to your cocktails, not only because that knowledge is invaluable and will help make those important flavour combinations, but you can also springboard off your classics to create new cocktails. This works specifically well with Sours, so get to know your Sour bases and why the flavours work so well, and go from there. Luckily we have a great library of cocktail classics (and then some) to familiarise yourself with.
Ice, ice babyPerhaps the most important tip we can give you folks playing at home is to know your ice. Ice 1000% matters. The only ingredient that goes into EVERY drink is water, and we almost always get it from ice, so it’s important to know how to use it. When we mix or shake cocktails and the balance isn’t quite copacetic, the knee-jerk reaction is to add more sweetness, but the problem usually is that there isn’t enough dilution in your drink. Good-quality alcohol helps pronounce flavours in the same way salt might, but you need to dilute it to get it to sing. And we do this by using different kinds and shapes of ice. For example, the ice that comes out of your home freezer will always be too dry to stir or shake with. Bar ice, the stuff you get in your drinks when you’re out, sits out and melts as you wait for your drinks to be made, which helps with the taste and speed of the dilution. If you’re not keen to wait around for ice to melt, chuck your freezer ice into a glass of water to get the ball rolling and set up your other ingredients – 30 seconds to a minute should do it. Now you have bar-ready ice cubes to get you 90% of the way to a great drink.
Balance is keyWhen it comes to balancing a cocktail, the gold standard is to have the right combination of sweet, sour, bitter and alcoholic elements. This means a drink that isn’t too sweet, sour or bitter, but perfectly and harmoniously balances all flavours. This may be true for a lot of drinks, and perhaps for a lot of people, but there are always exceptions to the rule. Think about a Dirty Martini; there’s definitely a preference for more vinegar and pickle flavours than dry or wet flavours, which is the sole reason the Martini order is personal, and why bartenders always ask how you like it. Other people prefer their drinks on the sweeter side, some spicier, others, like this author, enjoy drinks when they’re more sour, savoury or fatty. What is more important is to pay close attention to what you're mixing – use a jigger or measuring tool to ensure accuracy, and adjust to suit your tastes. As we mentioned above, pay close attention to Sours – and the golden rule for a Sour (Whiskey Sour, Daiquiri or Margarita, perhaps) is to halve ingredients each time. So two-parts strong (spirit), one-part sour (citrus juice) and a half-part sweet (syrup or liqueur). Once you have the 60:30:15mL ratio nailed, you could try the more “bartender-y” 50:20:20ml ratio. Keep in mind not all strong, sour or sweet elements are created equal. For example, Cointreau is far more viscous than a 1:1 simple syrup, and Gordon’s Gin is less booze-forward than, say, Plymouth.
Flavour pairingsWe’ve talked a little bit about balance and flavour, but how about complimenting individual flavour pairings? Say, for example, if we start with a mezcal base, how can we build on it to create the beginnings of a great cocktail? The most obvious pairing with mezcal would be orange, so add an orange liqueur, juice or aperitif to the mezcal. Keeping in mind the above advice, we’d need to balance those flavours – ideally by diluting or adding a mixer, or a bit of both. For gin, we’re looking for similar complimenting flavours. So, if we have a gin that is very dry but still quite lemony, the obvious answer would be to pair it with lemon. The same goes for whisky and rum. That’s all well and good, but how do we make sure our cocktail is complex? We won’t go into the balance of cocktails because that’s already covered. What we will say is to introduce a contrasting and/or textural element to the drink. Bitters (the salt and pepper of cocktails) is a great way to break up an overly sweet drink. Citrus, too. Salt can also be used if the drink is verging on too sweet – a great example of this is salted caramel, and the same applies for drinks that go big on molasses.
Fresh is bestOne of the best things about making cocktails at home is access to fresh ingredients. This is one of the things bartenders struggle with when making cocktails, as a lot of the prep work, or mise en place, is juicing limes and other fruits prior to opening. This means that juice will never be as fresh as squeezing the fruit directly into your cocktail shaker. This is especially the case when squeezing limes fresh, as they express oils from their skins, which will give you beautiful, aromatic fresh juice. But hot tip – don’t over-juice your fruits and save all your husks, so then you can make your own Oleo Saccharum (see recipe here). This rule of thumb also goes for your perishable liquid ingredients like vermouth and wine that need to be used (ideally) within a week and kept in the fridge. The same goes for espresso, which has to be as fresh as possible to get that lovely fragrant coffee aroma and as much head as possible when shaken.
On the toolsTools aren’t the most important aspect of making your own cocktails, but they do help. Respectfully, would John Coltrane play with a broken reed? Or Taylor Swift use a commercial plane? No. The masters use the good stuff. The same goes for cocktail equipment. It doesn’t have to be over-the-top fancy, but when it comes to cocktail tins, they do need to be able to shake ice. Mason jars are okay, but if you’re serious about making seriously good drinks, we recommend buying a good Boston shaker or similar. And you really need an accurate jigger. Once you’ve got those, everything is a lot easier.
Try different alcoholIt’s all about taste, and the best way to expand your tastebuds and understand different flavour profiles is to try them. Focus on what you’re tasting, and why it works or why it doesn’t. Think about how you might find balance in a drink, or what needs to change to make it a better one. “I’m not a gin drinker, I’m a Four Pillars drinker” is a totally fine attitude to have, but know why you use one gin in your Martini with a twist and another for your Olive-tini. This will expand your repertoire and might even make you appreciate Beefeater again. London Calling, anyone?
Garnish thoughtfullyLastly, a big part of bartending is making your cocktails look delicious. So, put some consideration into how you will garnish your drink. Use fresh ingredients and try to pick a colour that is in contrast to the drink. Aperol Spritz with an orange? Really? Because the drink looks orange? We can do better than that. Aperol Spritz with a fat green olive? Now that’s giving work of art. Other great options at your local supermarket are telegraph cucumbers, basil sprigs, thyme and salt flakes, to name a few. Colour theory may be a little out of everyone’s depth, but trust us, it works.
Want even more inspiration? Check out our collection of the best cocktail recipes, which are all written and tested by our team of experts.  
Authour image
Lulu MorrisLulu is a writer at Dan Murphy’s who loves Pina Coladas, but hates getting caught in the rain.
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LearnCocktail makingCocktailsSpiritsDIY How toWhisk(e)yGin
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