Mixing drinks in a jam jar instead of a shaker - can that work? In Corona times, need becomes virtue and the living room becomes a house bar. A professional explains what is important.
Cologne (dpa / tmn) - Bars and restaurants had to close for a long time in the Corona crisis. If you wanted to start happy hour with a cool drink in the past few weeks, you either had to have it delivered or pick a shaker yourself. This was recorded thousands of times on social media under the hashtag "quarantini".
Even if the restrictions are now relaxed - the domestic bar should still be the first port of call for the after-work drink for many. But how do popular drinks succeed quickly at home? And what ingredients do you need for this?
A good range of alcohol includes gin, vodka, bourbon, rum and orange curacao, or liqueur with an orange flavor, said Mohammad Nazzal in an interview with the dpa themed service. Nazzal is a member of the German Bartender Union.
Quality of alcohol is more important than price
It doesn't always have to be the most expensive brand, but a solid basic quality is important. "A bottle of schnapps that costs five or six euros - I can not do that," says Nazzal. Good gin requires a high alcohol content, sufficient aroma and a strong juniper note.
Furthermore, fresh acid sources should not be missing in the house bar, i.e. fresh juices and no concentrates.
The right sweetness is also important: sugar, powdered sugar, honey, maple syrup, jam and sugar syrup. The latter should be cooked in a one to one ratio. Soda water should always be available for mixing, but also a good ginger ale.
Mocha cup replaces the measuring cup
According to Nazzal, professional equipment such as measuring, stirring and shaking the drinks is not absolutely necessary. The jigger, for example the measuring cup, can be replaced with a mocha cup. You could work with shares instead of milliliters, for example three parts of schnapps, one part of acid and one part of sugar. In the end you should always taste it. "Then you also know whether you've hit the balance."
And what else should you know if you don't want to be smiled at by the professionals? For example, that you should never be too economical with ice. "Ice cream is the gold of our bar," says Nazzal. Because that makes the drink enjoyable.
When choosing the type of ice cream, the Mix-Profi recommends full ice cubes instead of hollow ice cubes. For some drinks, however, crushed ice is common, such as bramble, a drink made from gin, lemon juice, sugar syrup and blackberry liqueur.
Every drink needs a specific glass
The glass also determines the taste, such as the question of how delicate and how fine it is, or whether the glass is mouth-blown or hand-ground. "We drink with all our senses, just like we eat with all our senses," explains Nazzal.
A gin and tonic, for example, belongs in a highball glass, i.e. a glass with a filling volume of up to 350 milliliters in order to have enough space for ice cream, spirits and a mixed drink. "The filling quantity has to match the drink, otherwise it's not fun." The glass should therefore never be too full or too empty.
In addition to the whole theory, there is still practice: How do you mix your delicious drink, for example a caipirinha?
Caipirinha does not need brown sugar
First of all, you have to part with a persistent misconception: in a caipirinha, brown cane sugar and crushed ice have lost nothing. In Brazil, the home country of the world-famous drink, you can enjoy it with ice cubes and white cane sugar. Because crushed ice dilutes the drink and brown cane sugar does not dissolve well.
For a real caipirinha, cut a lime into six equal parts, press it on and pour it together with the juice into the glass. In addition, two teaspoons of white cane sugar, 50 milliliters of cachaca and ice cubes. Mix everything until the sugar is completely dissolved, done. Alternatively, you can put the ingredients in the jam jar and shake with the lid closed. If you don't like cane sugar, you can use 25 milliliters of sugar cane syrup instead.
For the Mojito, Nazzal also recommends ice cubes instead of - as usual - crushed ice. First, add two teaspoons of white cane sugar and 20 milliliters of fresh lime juice to the glass. Next, ten to fifteen mint leaves are added, but are not pressed on. The reason: "If you have whole ice cubes, the friction between the mint and the ice is enough to release the flavors."
The next step is to add 50 milliliters of white, unsupported rum and soda water to the glass rim. Finally, mix, take a mint leaf in your hands and clap once to release the flavors, garnish, done.
Vodka martini is never shaken
A vodka martini - known from the James Bond films - traditionally includes 10 milliliters of dry white wormwood and 60 milliliters of vodka. In contrast to the famous British secret agent, bartenders know that the drink is not shaken with ice, but stirred in it.
Then let the finished drink pass through a sieve into the glass and finally add a little lemon zest or an olive. But the most important ingredient is not in the glass at all, but is the glass itself: "If you want to drink a martini, you need a martini glass, otherwise it doesn't taste good."
German Bartender Union