The cocktail renaissance of the last two decades has not only led to a renewed interest in cocktail culture as a whole, but also in home mixology. It’s led to seemingly countless cocktail bars featuring creative and talented bartenders from coast to coast. But it’s also led to a rise in the popularity of crafting cocktails at home. And we aren’t talking about whipping up Jack and Cokes or Gin & Tonics. Instead, we’re talking about innovative, exciting home bartending.
In my 20 years of writing about alcohol professionally, I’ve often been tasked with making cocktails for friends and family at get-togethers. It kind of goes with the territory, right? During that time, I’ve learned that you don’t need years of training to make flavorful, epic drinks for your friends. You just need to learn some simple techniques and a few cocktail hacks.
Easy to remember cocktail hacks
When we talk about cocktail hacks, we’re referring to simple time-shortening techniques and actions that will allow home mixologists to spend more time actually shaking up or stirring cocktails instead of wasting time with seemingly tedious tasks. You’ll spend less time making the cocktails themselves and more time engaging with your guests. How can you possibly entertain everyone while you’re busy prepping elaborate ingredients? Short answer: you can’t.
Some are related to the ice in the drink itself, others are about maximizing flavor, and others simply make your life as a home bartender a little easier. All of them will make home mixology easier and much less stressful than it might be otherwise. They will also save you a ton of time. Below, you’ll find some of our favorite time-saving hacks. Keep scrolling to see them all.
Make clear ice easily
Sure, you can just grab a bag of ice at your local grocery store or use ice from your freezer. But if you want to wow your friends with clear ice, you can make it easily at home. All you need to do is use a directional freezing method with an insulated cooler as your container. Fill the open-top insulated cooler with water and freeze for a day or two. The insulation will trap the impurities and oxygen. This will create crystal clear ice.
Use baking soda to neutralize flavors
So, you mixed up a cocktail, and you tasted it only to find that it’s more acidic than you’d prefer. Maybe you added too much lime or lemon juice. Should you dump it out and start over? Well, you can add a pinch or two of baking soda to neutralize the acidity and make it more palatable.
Add a little salt to your drinks
Do you want to wow your friends and family with your cocktails? Try adding a few drops of saline solution or a pinch or two of salt to your cocktails. It works well in citrus-based drinks like the Paloma or Margarita, as well as in sweeter
Use a vegetable peeler for garnishing
You don’t need to be a skilled artist to make great garnishes for your home cocktails. All you need is a vegetable peeler. You can easily peel lemons, limes, and oranges for a citrus twist for drinks like the Negroni or Gin Gimlet.
Use a mason jar as a shaker
If you’re new to home bartending, you might not have all the tools yet. Or, you do, but you want to get creative. Instead of shaking your drinks with a Hawthorne shaker, use a mason jar instead. Not only does it seal really well for novice mixers, but you can serve the drink right in the shaker.
Use measuring spoons
New home bartenders might not have a whole list of cocktail tools at their disposal. You might not even have a jigger for measuring, but you probably have measuring spoons in your kitchen. You can use those in a pinch to properly measure your cocktail ingredients.
Use jelly or jam instead of simple syrup
Instead of sugar, simple syrup, or even maple syrup to sweeten your cocktails, use a spoonful of strawberry jam, grape jelly, marmalade, or some other berry jam. Not only will it add sweetness to your drink, but it will also add a nice fruit flavor to the cocktail.
Fat wash your whiskey
If you want to add a velvety, fatty mouthfeel to your favorite cocktail, try fat washing your whiskey beforehand. It’s a fairly simple, straightforward technique where you infuse your bourbon, rye, or other whiskey with bacon grease, coconut oil, or browned butter. All you need to do is add the fat to the whiskey, let it infuse, freeze it to solidify the fat, and then strain it to create the perfect, fatty, luxurious mouthfeel you want.
Bottom line
As you’ve probably noticed from the above cocktail hacks, there are many simple and effective ways to make home cocktailing easier. Implement one or more of these, and we guarantee you’ll enjoy crafting cocktails at home even more than you do right now.
