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    Twist: Your Guide to Creating Inspired Craft Cocktails
    Twist: Your Guide to Creating Inspired Craft Cocktails
    Twist: Your Guide to Creating Inspired Craft Cocktails
    Ebook266 pages1 hour

    Twist: Your Guide to Creating Inspired Craft Cocktails

    By Jordan Hughes

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    About this ebook

    An Exploration of Classic Cocktails and Their Modern Riffs

    Learn how to make a great, well-balanced and properly executed cocktail with this stunning resource and recipe book from award-winning spirits writer Jordan Hughes. In over 75 killer recipes, you’ll master classics like the Martini and Old Fashioned, discover what makes these builds so timeless and how to use their tried-and-true specs to create your own riffs, twists and deliciously modern craft cocktails.

    Shake up a perfect Margarita then experiment with the spicy carrot and mezcal Power-Up Technique. Read into the “bastardized” evolution of a classic Daiquiri, then go crazy with a Guava Daiquiri, served over crushed ice with a hint of absinthe. Enjoy the bubbly French 75 and new Pisco and passion fruit Peruvian 75, or the spirit-forward Manhattan and its unique spin the Nocturnal Burn, made with cacao tequila and chili liqueur. There’s something for every palate in these pages! And with tons of information on stocking your home bar, making your own syrups and practicing proper technique, you’ll unlock a whole new world of mixology and hone your bartending skills.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Publishers
    Release dateDec 20, 2022
    ISBN9781645676508
    Twist: Your Guide to Creating Inspired Craft Cocktails

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      Book preview

      Twist - Jordan Hughes

      TWIST

      Your Guide to Creating Inspired Craft Cocktails

      JORDAN HUGHES

      Creator of High-Proof Preacher

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      Begin Reading

      Table of Contents

      About the Author

      Copyright Page

      Thank you for buying this

      Page Street Publishing Co. ebook.

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      The author and publisher have provided this e-book to you for your personal use only. You may not make this e-book publicly available in any way. Copyright infringement is against the law. If you believe the copy of this e-book you are reading infringes on the author’s copyright, please notify the publisher at: http://us.macmillanusa.com/piracy.

      To all the skilled bartenders I have had the pleasure of sitting across the bar from—thank you for doing what you do and for inspiring so much creativity and hospitality.

      CLASSIC COCKTAILS AS TEMPLATES

      There’s a reason that we call drinks like the Old Fashioned, Martini and Margarita classics. These cocktail recipes have stood the test of time. Just like music or fashion, cocktail trends come and go, falling in and out of style, but there are certain classic cocktails that have stuck around through it all. Most of these classics are incredibly simple and contain very minimal ingredients. Take the Daiquiri, for example. Although it’s been bastardized by cruise lines and big box restaurant chains in recent decades, a truly classic daiquiri is only rum, lime juice and Simple Syrup—and it’s simply incredible.

      Remembering the first few original cocktail recipes I came up with is both frustrating and hilarious. I was enamored with the endless possiblities and combined ingredients I thought sounded good, like tequila, lemon juice and honey. Why not add some fresh ginger too? So, I put those four things in a shaker and poured it up. There was nothing out there or over-the-top about the drink. It was intuitive … but also pretty terrible.

      When it comes to making quality cocktails there is still an art form involved (or is it science, or combination of both?). It involves more than combining complementary flavors in a shaker. It takes knowledge of the ingredients and executing the proper techniques to craft a truly exceptional mixed drink.

      Although I was eager to untether myself from classic cocktail recipes, it was through mastering them that I was able to unlock the vast world of mixology. Using the Daiquiri as an example once again, it is made up of a strong spirit (rum), a sour element (lime juice) and a bit of sweetness to balance it out (Simple Syrup). Let’s say you want to use tequila in place of rum. Well now, you essentially have a Margarita: a completely different drink, although it follows the same building blocks as the Daiquiri (strong, sour, sweet). It almost seems too easy, but this is where we start getting creative. I understand the urge to want to start tossing random ingredients from your fridge into your shaker and seeing what comes out, but try and resist the temptation. The best cocktails are often subtle and simple, and we can learn the most from basic recipes. There is no need to reinvent the wheel. The classics are classic for a reason and are essentially your templates for cocktail creation. But once you know the classics you can always build on them, mold them … or give them a special twist.

      BAR BASICS: GETTING STARTED

      Getting started with making cocktails and stocking your home bar can be daunting. As a perfectionist, I generally don’t bother doing anything unless I can do it really well. When it came to getting started with making cocktails, I felt like I needed to go out and buy all the best barware and get all the necessary bottles to make every drink all at once (if that’s even possible). But if you’re like me, you’re not made of money and mixology isn’t exactly an inexpensive pursuit. It’s important to realize that you may never be able to make every drink. Even after years and years of learning, collecting and expanding my liquor cabinet, I still often come across drink recipes that contain one or several ingredients I don’t have. Although it’s a frustrating idea, just let go of the notion that you need to buy every ingredient and tool imaginable to make cocktails.

      Instead, think through some cocktails that you enjoy drinking—and maybe some that you’ll likely make for others—and start by only purchasing the tools and ingredients you need to make those specific cocktails. One example: Are you a Margarita fan? Pick up some good tequila, orange liqueur and stock some fresh limes in the fridge. Then for bar tools, get yourself a cocktail shaker, a strainer, a jigger for measuring and a hand-juicer for juicing the limes. Just stick with those few things for now and then you can build on them later. You can get different varieties of tequila or experiment with different salt or spicy rims. Basically, become really good at making Margaritas and expand on your skills and ingredients when you feel ready. I find this approach a lot more realistic and attainable than buying up a bunch of tools or ingredients that you may never use.

      All that said, stocking a home bar is personal, and although I’m happy to share my own recommendations with you, there are likely things that I enjoy and consider essential that you won’t. There are a lot of recommendations in the following pages, from barware and glassware to spirits and various other cocktail ingredients. If you were to go out and buy everything at once you would likely have a pretty well-rounded bar set-up. But again, try to release yourself from that pressure of needing to have everything. As you start making drinks for yourself and for others, you’ll get a better sense of what tools you need and what ingredients you use the most.

      ESSENTIAL BAR TOOLS

      Shaker

      Quite possibly the most ubiquitous bar tool, there are various shaker designs to choose from, three-piece Cobbler shaker being the one you’re most likely already familiar with. Most professionals prefer something called a Boston shaker or a tin-on-tin shaker, as these designs are better suited for fast-paced bar environments. Don’t have a shaker? You can use a mason jar and a screw-on lid instead.

      Mixing Glass

      These elegant vessels are typically wide-based containers made from glass with a pour spout and beautiful designs and patterns etched into them. A mixing glass is intended for making stirred cocktails, as the wide base allows for more surface contact with the ice and its seamless design allows you to stir with a controlled, continuous motion. Don’t have a mixing glass? You can use a French press.

      Jigger

      This small bar tool is absolutely essential for making accurate measurements and consistent cocktails again and again. Alternately, you could use a shot glass for measuring, but generally jiggers are more ergonomic and have multiple markers on them for different measurements.

      Strainer(s)

      This tool is used after shaking or stirring your cocktail when you are ready to pour it into a glass. The purpose of the strainer is to hold back the ice and/or any other ingredients used for mixing the cocktail that you don’t want in your finished drink. A Hawthorne strainer is made with a tightly wound spring that allows the user to push down on a metal tab and adjust the level of strain while pouring. A julep strainer is a bit more old-fashioned, essentially just a large spoon with small holes in it. You could also benefit from a conical mesh strainer, which are often used with Hawthorne strainers, to help filter out small particles like small ice chips or herbs.

      Barspoon

      Barspoons have various uses from being the ideal tool for stirring spirit-forward cocktails, to allowing the user to pour carbonated beverages down their spiral shafts into a glass without the beverage bubbling over (thus their spiral design). Avoid inexpensive barspoons with rubber red tips on one end. These tend to bend and break easily.

      Citrus Juicer

      When making drinks, you’ll likely be using a lot of fresh citrus. Save your hands by getting a citrus hand juicer. They’re easy to find and inexpensive, and you’ll get a lot of use out of it.

      ESSENTIAL SPIRITS & INGREDIENTS

      As mentioned previously, stocking a home bar is personal, so you should buy bottles and ingredients that you enjoy drinking and using. If you’re new to making cocktails yourself, this will take some time to figure out, so start small. As you start making more cocktails and sampling more spirits, you’ll get a better understanding of what you like. As you go through the recipes in this book, I will suggest various products that I personally recommend for each cocktail so you have guidance along the way. But of course, I understand the desire to have a

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