posted by Arty on Nov 25
I used to frequent a little watering hole in Lush old Newcastle back in my earlier years, based in Jesmond on Osborne Road, “Osborne’s” was a favourite student haunt of mine, every Friday they would put on a drinks promotion where you struck a button on the bar and a knight rider style light would scan back and forth over a range of drinks promotions.
Buy one get one free
Drinks Half Price
Drinks Full Price (Boo)
or the ultimate - FREE DRINKS! (Winner)
It was a form of Free bingo as far as i was concerned.
I became very apt in the art of obtaining free drinks and was none to upset if i were to slightly misjudge the button bash and get buy one get one free, to the disgust of the bar staff who then had to duplicate the original order.
Sadly y these sorts of offers are few and far between these days, The government crack down on binge drinking has put an end to those crazy days on Osborne road, it was good whilst it lasted, but if I’m completely honest, it’s for the best, The drink yob culture of Britain is terrible, and its time we as a nation addressed our drinking habits.
posted by Hilary on Feb 11
Whether it be sitting in a posh swanky wine bar or sitting at home on a bean bag, it doesn’t matter however the glass you drink your beverage from is very important. It’s a scientific fact (well may be in my head) it does make a difference to the pleasure and most importaintly the taste of the drink. I mean can you really imagine a martini drank from a pint glass or a lager drink out of a champagne glass. Call me a girlie girl but i have never drank from pint glass in my life it just doesn’t seem right!
posted by JD on Jun 1
If you fancy a few garnishes in your drink, to brighten them up for the few seconds before you drink them, then follow these tips:
- Choose firm, bright coloured fruit without blemished skin
- Was the fruit just before use
- Use a spiral to hang over the rim of the glass
- For something different, peel a strip using a vegetable peeler, tie the strip into a knot and drop into the drink
- Use a stainless steel knife as a carbon steel will discolour the flesh
- Use a canelle knife or vegetable peeler to score the fruit in lines before you cut it so the slice looks decorated
- When cutting citrus garnishes, be careful not to cut into the bitter white pith of the fruit when peeling
Now go decorate some drinks!
posted by JD on May 26
You can buy an all in one shaker but professionals prefer a two cone shaker, where the two pieces overlap when put together and they then use a separate strainer to strain the drink.
If you’re a beginner, a three piece shaker should do.
To use a shaker, add the ice and cocktail ingredients, hold the pieces together and shake briskly. When your shaker gets frosty on the outside, you know its sufficiently chilled.
Serve immediately to avoid any melting ice diluting the drink.
posted by JD on May 24
If you have the right equipment, preparing a cocktail is easy. Here’s a list of what you need and we’ll look at each in detail later:
- Cocktail shaker (of course!)
- Lots of ice
- Strainer
- Lots of ice
- Mixing glass/pitcher
- Lots of ice
- Jigger
- More ice
- Blender
- Did I mention you need lots of ice?
There are plenty of other items you might want to add as you go along, such as different types of glasses for different cocktails, cocktail sticks, straws, stirrers, crushers, long handled spoons, etc but this is the basic list
posted by Arty on May 21
Here is a list of the types of glasses available and which you might wish to add to your home cocktail bar:
- Cocktail/Martini glass - the traditional glass for cocktails and martinis
- Wine glass - traditionally white wine glasses are smaller with a longer stem
- Liqueur glass - small glass for small measures (not really needed in my house!)
- Highball or tall glass - tall, straight sided glass for drinks with lemonade or fruit juice in them
- Goblet - vary in size and shape, used for tall drinks with lots of ice like the Mai Tai cocktail
- Champagne glass - tall fluted glass with tall stem for, funnily enough, champagne
- Tumbler - short tumbler with straight or sloping sides for plain fruit juice, or whiskey based drinks
- Tulip glass - shaped like a tulip, often for champagne drinks
- Brandy snifter - designed to trap for fragrance of brandy in the glass, short glass with a lip at the top
After reading all that, I feel a thirst coming on…
posted by Arty on May 12
More for cocktails, here is a list of the most popular flavour toppings:
Nutmeg - idealy for creamy or milky drinks. Grate the nutmeg using a fine grater and sprinkle carefully. Don’t grate over the drink or it may not be even and you’ll end up with too much. Needs to be freshly grated to keep the flavour
Cinnamon - serve as whole sticks with mulled wine or egg nog and it can also be used as a stirrer. Or you can grate it and sprinkle over the top
Coffee - ideal with coffee flavoured drinks (funnily enough!) You could use instant coffee but ideally grate a fresh coffee bean or two in a grinder
Chocolate - saving the best til last! Grate using a coarse grater or serve chocolate sticks with sweet, thick drinks that can support them. Or use twirls of chocolate on top of whipped cream. To make a twirl of chocolate, pull the blade of a sharp knife or vegetable peeler across a block of slightly warmed chocolate and the chocolate will curl. Nice!
Oh, I wish I was sat outside with a nice cocktail now…