5 Quick & Easy Tips to Craft Up A Cocktail At Home!
Who says that the only way to sip away at a gorgeous cocktail is at an upscale bar/restaurant? Today we'll go through some quick and easy tips to concoct an easy cocktail for you and your guests...all from the comfort of your very own home (talk about a COVID win!).
Cocktail crafting is super easy! All it takes is a little creativity and a few basic ingredients and voila.. you have a fancy, delicious cocktail ready to be served! Follow along as I run through some quick cocktail crafting tips!
1. Always Keep Your Bar Cart Stocked (with the basics at least)!
First and foremost, no cocktail is a cocktail sans the alcohol! A good tip is to keep some basic alcohol/spirits in your pantry at all times! My go-tos are a good Vodka (Smirnoff is my fave for cocktail making) or a Silver Tequila (think Jose Cuervo Blue Agave Silver Tequila). These colour-less liquors are great staples for an easy cocktail as they don't change the desired colour nor look of the drink! Plus, they're both cult faves, so you know they'll appeal to everyone!
2. Time to Get Juiced!
Easy trick #2, always have some sort of juice on tap! Whether it's orange, peach, lemonade or cranberry, a good juice really makes the entire cocktail! Plus, this is a great way to personalize your cocktail—either to match the colour/theme of the event or craft a fun combination of juices. Nothing's more fun and unique than creating a fusion of juices with a few of your faves! Insider secret (!): mixing juices always elevates a drink and makes it taste and sound much fancier!
Didn't have time to run to grocery store? Don't fret, another great hack is to keep a few frozen cans of juice on hand. These aren't ideal but great for when you're in a crunch!
Another great tip: Always have some canned (so that it doesn't lose it's fizz!) club soda (think Sprite) on hand! This adds a great fizz and carbonation to any drink! Plus, it gives the illusion of a more complicated (read fancy) drink!
3. Set the (Bar)ware High!
Whoever said 'presentation is everything', was totally right! Cocktail presentation 101...the barware matters! I know what you're thinking...can't I just serve a cocktail in a regular drinking glass? Well the answer is...yes you can but it won't have the same effect as using barware!
My go-to tip is to invest in a small, yet versatile collection of barware. This doesn't need to be anything fancy or expensive, but a good array of barware is sure to elevate the experience! My tip: Purchase small qualities of various staple drinkware/barware such as a pair of martini, margarita and coupe glasses. These can be inexpensive finds but can really fancify (if that's even a word) an at-home cocktail!
As for your champagne flutes/wine glasses, it might be a good idea to invest in larger sets. Another tip: It's a smart idea to purchase (matching) wine/champagne glasses as individuals. This allows for you easily replace broken drinkware without having to invest in a new set or having half sets lying around.
My favourite stores to buy barware are Crate & Barrel (great to buy drinkware individually & their collections are fairly permanent), Ikea (super inexpensive and accessible & sold individually) and HomeSense (great for some unique drinkware pieces).
4. Finishing Touches Matter!
Another (easy!) insider secret: Garnishes elevate any and all drinks! Whether it's a lemon wedge, piece of fruit or mint leaves, garnishes are sure to bring your cocktail to the next level! My #1 compliment when preparing cocktails at home is that they look restaurant quality. And what's my secret? Garnishes! They fancify (there's *that* word again) every drink and make the experience that much better!
And I know what you're thinking...yet another ingredient that I don't have. Tip: Always have some frozen fruit on hand to use as garnishes! This is a great tip that's sure to even make your last minute (why-didnt-they-text-first) guests impressed!
5. Add 'Bartender' to My Resume
My fifth and final tip is to have some basic bar tools on hand! Now, of all the tips this isn't absolutely necessary, but definitely helps make the experience that much more fun and fancy for you as the drink-maker and the guests as the drinkers.
A few basic tools that I've found to be super helpful are a cocktail shaker (which I admittedly don't use as much as I probably should—but super useful and "fancy"), a jigger (essentially a shot measure that avoids ultra-strong and ultra-watered-down drinks) and a muddler (as the name would suggest, a pounding device to get the flavours of fruit well integrated into a drink). Again, while these tools aren't necessary, they do help elevate that at-home bar experience and allow for a wider array of drinks to be made!
And there you have it! Your 5 quick & easy tips to craft your very own "fancy" cocktail—all from the comfort of your home! Gone away are the days that you have to rely on hitting up a local hotspot or *that* fancy Insta-famous rooftop to sip away on a beautifully crafted drink! Cheers to safely sipping away from the comfort of your couch this covid season!
Be sure to tag @pink.prosecco so that I can check out your cocktail crafts!