We asked the mixologists at Pepper Smash Cocktail Kitchen at The Shops at Legacy for advice on crafting the perfect cocktail. A discerning gentleman must first acquire the tools for the trade. Your home inventory should include: Boston Shaker tins, Hawthorne, julep, and fine strainers, a bar spoon, wooden muddler, ice molds and one set of jiggers. Next, remember to be bold; a proper gentleman seeks adventure! Take your favorite cocktail and swap out an ingredient or add a muddled fruit. Always select fresh ingredients and avoid bottled mixes. A great margarita does not come from a bottle; it comes from fresh lime juice, a good tequila, and a decent triple sec. Please do watch your ratios. Precision counts.
Old Fashioned
The most classic of cocktails, an Old Fashioned is made with a large block of ice that melts over the duration of an evening. Ice achieves the two very important secret steps: dilution and solution. Dilution soothes the alcohol “burn”. Water is also a solvent that blends the various flavors together to create a balanced cocktail. A gentleman uses spheres for squared glasses and cubes for rounded ones.
Ingredients
- 2 oz bourbon or rye
- 3–4 dashes bitters
- 1 tsp. simple syrup
- Splash of soda
- Orange slice for muddling, or lemon twist for garnish
Recipe
- Add the simple syrup to the bottom of a double rocks glass.
- Add the bitters and a splash of soda. Muddle together the simple syrup, bitters and soda with a spoon or muddler.
- Add ice, and pour in the rye or bourbon, stirring it all together.
- Optional: rub the lemon twist around the brim to bring out the scent of the oils before dropping it in the glass.
Manhattan
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When making any classic cocktail, use decent liquor, but don’t break the bank. A gentleman might love his single malt scotch, but wouldn’t waste his Balvenie 18-year in a scotch cocktail. Yet, a liquor that is not enjoyable on its own will not be enjoyable in a well-made cocktail. These tenets hold true when making a Manhattan, an elegant drink where the taste of the liquor should shine.
Ingredients
- 2 oz rye or bourbon
- 1⁄2 oz. sweet vermouth
- 1–2 dashes bitters
- Maraschino cherry or lemon twist for garnish
Recipe
- Combine the rye, vermouth and bitters in a mixing glass or shaker with ice.
- Stir for a bit, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
- Garnish with a cherry or lemon twist.
Martini
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The original martini was made with gin and a splash of vermouth. Let us never forget that glassware is as essential to the perfect cocktail as the proper ingredients. A gentleman would never drink Chardonnay from a Bordeaux glass! Pour your juleps in julep tins, your oversized high proof cocktails into coupes, your old fashions into double rocks glasses. Your martinis into martini glasses.
Ingredients
- 2 1⁄2 oz. gin
- 1⁄2 oz. dry vermouth
- Olives or a lemon twist for garnish
Recipe
- Pour gin and vermouth into a shaker or mixing glass filled with ice.
- Stir for a bit, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
- Garnish with olives or lemon twist.
Originally published in the July 2017 issue