Essential Spirits

Vodka
Vodka’s like a great character actor when it comes to liquor. Everywhere you look, it just keeps
turning up and stealing the show! Vodka tonics, screwdrivers, cosmopolitans: It’s the foundation
of so many modern cocktails. Since it’s so often going to be mixed, don’t go crazy on a high-end
brand. Find one that’s drinkable, and just smooth enough. You probably don’t want to taste it too
much, anyway.

Gin
Gin is a clear spirit, sure, but there’s nothing neutral about it. Its distinct flavor (thanks to the
Juniper berry) is the base to many classic drinks, including proper martinis and that timeless
power couple, the gin and tonic. You might not drink it all the time, but you’ll have happy to have
it in the rotation.

Whiskey
We’re a little leery to jump into any debates about which whiskey, or bourbon, or rye, or Scotch,
and so on—but you need one, so guests can enjoy their whiskey sours, old-fashioneds,
Manhattans, and other darker drinks. Again: we are agnostic about which to choose, but we’d
say that a whiskey (or a very smooth bourbon) is your most versatile option.

Tequila
Tequila’s more versatile than you think. Absolutely get a bottle for mixing up margaritas, tequila
sunrises, and other drinks that put you in a South of the Border mood. But don’t limit yourself to
just those wonderful drinks—tequila is a great spirit to enjoy mixed with a soda or even seltzer
with a lot of fresh lime. Or, for shots. You know.

White rum
Clear rum’s a must for daiquiris, mojitos, and other classic tropical drinks, but if you don’t want
to go through the trouble of mixing up something complex, we found something great in the
Caribbean. Try a rum and tonic—a staple tipple of island life.

Dark rum
Dark rum is a little bit more of a specialty pick for your bar—it can open the doors to a world of
fun, fruity tiki drinks, but that may not be your beach bag. We’d be remiss, though, if we didn’t
recommend keeping some around for dark and stormys. Especially ones served with a bitingly
gingery ale and a lot of fresh lime. Yum.
Mixers
Sodas
The “soda” in most cocktail names refers to club soda or seltzer, not cola. But honestly, having
cola, ginger ale, and a fizzy citrus choice around alongside seltzer isn’t the worst idea. Plenty of
people drink them, after all. Bar tip: buy individual cans rather than larger liter sizes

Bitters
Cocktail bitters, a powerful herbal tincture, were once prescribed as medicine, if you can believe
it. We don’t recommend it for health, necessarily. We do recommend it in old-fashioneds, and
even as an accent to simple two-ingredient drinks, too—think of it as all-purpose seasoning to
add kick to all your drinks.

Aperols, amari, and light liqueurs

The Aperol spritz has a moment every summer—and honestly, sometimes throughout the year
around the Plated kitchen. You don’t have to limit your spritz to just one liquor, though. Many
spritzes are made in Italy with other amari—which is technically a kind of liquor, but they’re used
more as a mixer or digestif than as a spirit unto themselves. You might know Campari and
Fernet, but feel free to sip the world.
While they don’t share much in flavor or history, now’s a good time to think about other, sweeter
liqueurs used more to flavor drinks than stand on their own. Think about what drinks you like
making and what flavors you enjoy to guide your purchases. For example: keep triple sec on
hand for margaritas and sangria, or try something like St. Germain (an elderflower-inspired
option) to liven up your mixology. Gin + club soda + St. Germain + lime = never a bad idea.

Vermouth
You probably know that a whisper of vermouth is the key ingredient to a Martini. Did you also
know that vermouth is a kind of wine? (Now you do!) Because it’s not technically a distilled
spirit, it can go bad—so make sure you refrigerate it, rather than keeping it in your bar.

Ice
Last, but by no means least: you need to have ice. An ice bucket is, of course, the most refined
choice. But until you hit your next stage of adulting, stay chill and just keep a few trays in the
freezer. You can ask for barware for your next birthday.

https://www.plated.com/morsel/home-bar-graduation/

10 Bartending Terms Everyone Should Know

#1 Shot

A shot is a small yet potent drink, generally but not always consisting of a single alcohol alone,
or occasionally two mixed together. Though the quantity varies by establishment, it generally
measures between 1.25 and 1.5 ounces in the USA. These are ingested in one drink, not
sipped. They cup in a tiny cup called a shot glass.

#2 Cocktail

A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink consisting of two or more ingredients. One of the
ingredients must contain alcohol. These drinks can be made by building, shaking, or stirring.
Commonly ordered cocktails are Whiskey Sours, Margaritas, and Long Island Iced Teas. Many
involve mixing an alcohol and a juice or soda together, and adding a garnish.

#3 On The Rocks

This term means that the beverage you are ordering is being served over ice. Usually it is a
singular alcohol served in a rocks glass, such as a Vodka on the Rocks, but it can also be a
mixed drink, such as a Margarita. This drink is always chilled.

#4 Build or Layer

To build or layer a drink means to pour the ingredients straight into the glass in which it will be
served. The bartender adds the alcohols one at a time, generally pouring the heaviest alcohol
first, followed by lighter alcohols and juices or sodas. Many highball drinks are made this way,
such as a Cape Cod or a Greyhound. They are generally served with ice.

#5 Shaken

A shaken drink is built in a cup, one ingredient at a time. The cup is then poured into a shaker
with ice cubes, and shaken until it is chilled throughout. Then it is poured into a glass through a
strainer, and new ice is added if the drink required ice cubes. Many drinks are shaken and
served chilled but without ice.

#6 Double

A drink ordered as a “Double” means that it has double the amount of alcohol in the drink, but
the same amount of other ingredients. Generally a single drink contains about 1.5 ounces of
alcohol, so a double will equal 3 ounces. These tend to be very strong drinks and heavily taste
of alcohol.

#7 Tall

When a customer asks for a “Tall” drink, make sure that they are not accidentally misnaming a
“double.” Whereas a double contains twice the amount of alcohol, a tall contains the same
amount of alcohol, but increases the amount of non-alcoholic mixer. This makes the drink taste
less alcoholic, but doesn’t necessarily make it weaker; it still has the same amount of alcohol as
a regular cocktail.

#8 Neat

When someone orders a drink “Neat”, they want nothing added to it. It is served in a glass, with
no ice, and no mixers. It is always served room temperature. A lot of times drinks like this will be
served as a double. Even though this is often the same amount that is poured as a shot, it is
usually served in a rocks glass, and generally sipped.

#9 Mixer

A mixer is everything put into a cocktail that does not contain alcohol. This can mean juices
such as orange juice, grapefruit juice, and cranberry juice. It also refers to pre made mixes like
margarita mix and bloody mary mix. Lastly, it can mean any type of soda, from Coca Cola to
tonic water to ginger ale. A mixer is anything nonalcoholic that is in your drink.

#10 Free Pour

To free pour is to pour straight from the bottle using a spout. To do this, a bartender uses a
method of measurement where they count to determine how much alcohol they have poured in
a given amount of time. This is useful in a fast paced environment, when using a jigger for
measurement would take to much time or be inconvenient.

Bartending Tools and Why You Need Them

Not all bartending jobs are created equal. For example, at a wine bar you would use a wine key
frequently but potentially never touch a bar blade. The opposite could be true if you work at an
establishment that focuses primarily on craft beer.

Whether you are tending bar at a dive, at a club, or want to impress friends at home with your
mixology skills, you need to master some tools. While the equipment that you need to use may
vary by job, the best bartenders are prepared to use every tool in their kit to provide the best
experience possible for their patrons.

#1 Bar blade

Don’t worry, you won’t hurt yourself. It’s not as dangerous as it sounds, they’re not sharp, relax.
Every bartender should own and learn how to open a bottle of beer with this tool. Place the
blade underneath the bottle cap, push down, and voila, an open beer.
#2 Bar Towels

If you haven’t learned it yet, it may be important to develop the skill of cleaning up after yourself.
Every bartender should have two bar towels on them. One to clean up any spills and one for
drying glassware. If you don’t know how to use a towel, watch an instructional YouTube video.

#3 Wine Keys

You’re a bartender, you should know how to “unlock” a bottle with a wine key. While there are
different styles, you don’t need to break the bank on a quality wine key. Just find something that
is sturdy. To open a bottle of wine; open the bar blade, pull down the corkscrew so that the key
looks like a capital “T”, then twist the corkscrew firmly into the cork. Once you have done this,
fold one side down to rest on top of the rim of the wine bottle, then pull up on the other side to
pull out the cork.

#4 Shaker Tins

Shaker tins are used for countless different types of drinks and the art of shaking it should be
mastered by every bartender. There are different styles of tins in varying sizes. Some
bartenders will use a tin combined with a Collins glass, while others will opt to use a second,
smaller tin. While a smaller tin may be more ideal because it will help cool drinks quicker, it also
has the added benefit of not being made out of glass. Whichever you choose, it is important that
the smaller glass/tin fits snugly into the larger tin so that no liquid escapes when shaking
vigorously.

#5 Hawthorne Strainer

After shaking or stirring a drink, place a Hawthorne strainer on top and pour into the desired
glass. The strainer keeps all of the ice from being transferred to the final drink, leaving it cool
and preventing it from being watered down. Just one thing, place your finger on the designated
area towards the top of the strainer so that the liquid from the bottom does not touch you. The
customers have no idea where your fingers have been and don’t want your dirty paws in their
drinks.

#6 Mixing Glass

Stronger cocktails cannot be shaken in a tin because it can bruise the drink, so they are put into
a mixing glass and stirred with a bar spoon instead. While you do specifically not need a mixing
glass to make cocktails, it could be helpful if you work at a bar that specializes in them.
Otherwise, you could mix in a Collins glass.

#7 Jiggers

While many bartenders use a “free pour,” which is a method of counting the seconds that they
are pouring to pour a certain amount of alcohol and/or mixers. It is inaccurate and, while you
can get away with it many times, you will not be able to do so if you want to make great craft
cocktails. Craft Cocktails require precision and using a jigger can provide that. A jigger has a top
and bottom that have different measurements. You can get jiggers in a wide range of sizes but
you will generally see 1 ounce/ 2 ounce combinations. Some of the best jiggers have lips on the
top that allow easier pouring and may have lines on the interior of them marking, for example, ½
ounce, ¾ ounce, etc. Just remember to fill the jigger all the way to the top, craft cocktails are
expensive and it is best to be precise.

#8 Speed Pourers

Placed in the top of a bottle of alcohol, the best speed pourers are metal and take some time to
perfect the pouring technique. Place your hand on the neck of the bottle, swinging it upside
down quickly before pouring.

#9 Paring Knife

Unfortunately, drinks will not garnish themselves. The best thing to do is to show up early for
your shift, pull out the cutting board, and use your paring knife to cut lemons, limes, etc. so that
you will be prepared when you need them.

#10 Peelers

You probably don’t know how tedious it is to peel an orange or a lemon until you need to
garnish a drink with a peel. Slowly peel down and away from your body and don’t hold the fruit
against your shirt, the customers don’t want to see their drinks being getting extra zest from the
lint on your clothes.

Lighter

You could spark a lighter underneath a lemon or lime peel that is about to garnish a drink to
unlock an aroma. Also, a lot of drinkers smoke, so you’ll have one to loan out. Any small deed
can lead to increased customer satisfaction and an increase in tips.

https://www.nationalbartenders.com/bartender-blog/

Smoked Rosemary Blackberry Whiskey Sour

● 2 oz whiskey
● 2 oz simple syrup (1 part sugar or honey dissolved in 1 part water)
● 8 blackberries
 ● 1 tbsp lemon juice
● Sprig of fresh rosemary

Instructions
1.Fill a rocks glass with crushed ice.
2.Place blackberries into a cocktail shaker and press using a meddler to release their juice. Add
whiskey, simple syrup and lemon juice then cap and shake.
3.Strain into the rocks glass. Garnish with a sprig of rosemary and torch the end of the rosemary
just before serving.

Servings : 1
Ready in : 5 Minutes
Course : Cocktails