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Cocktail Hour - The Bar Blog

Archive for the 'Bartending Tips' Category

How To Pour A Perfect Guinness

Monday, March 10th, 2008

guinness.jpgThe are a few thing that bring a tear to my eye and one of them is a perfectly poured Guinness. Actually, it is a poorly poured Guinness bring a tear to my eye. Here are a few rules to follow and you’ll have a perfect our every time.

First, you have to use the traditional tulip shaped British pint glass (about 20 oz.). Hold the glass at a 45 degree angle to the tap and fill until the glass is about 2/3 full. Next, let the Guinness settle for at least 3 minutes. Don’t forget about it though, nothing is worse than making a customer stare at their not yet served Guinness for too long. Finally, top of the pint and let it settle once more before serving.

Guinness Master Brewer, Fergal Murray, suggests a perfect way to drink your pint as well. He says, one should sip from the same spot on the glass. Fergal aims for the Harp above the Guinness logo.

Help make St. Patrick’s Day an Official Holiday - Proposition 3-17
St. Patrick’s Day Drinks

Stoli Blackberi

Tuesday, March 4th, 2008

stoli blackberi

One of the many product we had the pleasure to try in Vegas is Stoli’s newest flavor, Blackberi. I don’t think it is available yet, but trust me it will be worth the wait. I tried it over ice with soda, a what a delightful twist to straight vodka. As with many other Stoli flavors, the Blackberry flavor does not over power or taste too sweet. It is almost a essence of the fruit.

I am sure that Stoli Blackberi makes a wonderful Martini. Can’t wait for a whole bottle!

Stolichnaya

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Fresh Juice - Bartending Tips

Thursday, January 10th, 2008

If you need a New Years resolution, we recommend vowing to use fresh juices in our cocktails whenever possible. This means buying fresh lemons, limes and other citrus and hand squeezing the fruit for every libation. Although these is some elbow grease required, you guests and your taste buds will thank you.

Of course, if you don’t have such resolve, most supermarkets these days carry a dizzying variety of fresh juice. So go crazy and experiment! Blueberry, kiwi, whatever.

Our guide to awesome cocktails awesome cocktails

Eggs - Cocktail Food

Sunday, January 6th, 2008

Eggs are one of the best drinking foods around. They were common fare at most bars a hundred years ago. They were served hardboiled with salt or picked in a vinegar brine.

What makes the egg so special? An egg is packed full of protein in the whites, while the yolk contains fats (the OK ones) and other good for you nutrients. Eggs even contain the amino acid, cysteine, that helps to battle the effects of the deadly hangover. No wonder Sunday Brunch is so popular!

Eggs are relatively easy to hard boil, still there are a few tricks to make them perfect every time. First, expect to loose a few to cracking. Adding a bit of vinegar to the water will help stop cracking. Second, add the eggs to the water while it is still cold. Dropping the eggs into boiling water is a good way to crack the eggs and burn yourself. Gently place the eggs at the bottom of the pan. Once boiling turn the heat down to a simmer. Cook medium eggs 9 minutes, large 10 minutes, extra large 11 minutes and jumbo 12 minutes. Be careful not to over cook them as the yolks will discolor. Finally, serve in with salt in an old fashioned egg tree, a Christmas tree looking apparatus made of wire that hold a dozen eggs a salt shaker and a bowl for shells. This, of course is optional.

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An Interview with The King of Cocktails

Monday, December 17th, 2007

wi_f1_uncorked019_la_t.gifFor those who don’t know the Dale DeGroff, the legendary bartender who grew to fame at New York’s Rainbow Room, this is a great introduction to the man and his no nonsense cocktail philosophy. He is not only responsible for the Cosmopolitan, but for helping to make bartending the creative, respectable profession it is today.

When asked, “Any tips for home mixologists on making drinks at home?”

Says the King of Cocktails, “If you have good recipes, follow them, because you can really screw stuff up, as you can in baking. But having said that, recipes can sometimes be a starting point, and adjusted to your taste - sweet, sour, whatever. But use quality ingredients. Use the best ingredients you can afford - the same thing Julia Child told everybody.”

We can’t take credit for the interview, but at least we can share it with you. Cheers!

Read the whole interview: Uncorked: The King of Cocktails raises bartenders’ spirits

Get Dale DeGroff’s Book - The Craft of the Cocktail

photo SF Chronicle

Bartending Books

Sunday, December 9th, 2007

A- Z bar Guide-sm.jpgBartending & entertaining guides make great gifts. Here’s a few we really like.

Gary Regan — (writes for the SF Chronicle , very well regarded mixologist)
The bartenders Bible

Bartending for Dummies
(always good)

The Craft of the Cocktail - Dale DeGroff — Legendary Bartender from the Rainbow Room

The ultimate A-Z Cocktail Book - I use this one alot

Cocktail Food - we gotta eat

Cocktail Parties with a twist

This one is just plain fun
Teach your baby how to mix cocktails

and more bartending books here

Holiday Party Tips from Kahlua

Sunday, November 18th, 2007

logo_Kahlua.jpgJust in time for this holiday season, Kahlúa has assembled a who’s who of the entertaining world and made them available to consumers via a toll-free “Entertain Like The Experts” hotline, 1-888 Kahlúa Tips, and online at Kahluatips.com. Whether a holiday get-together is an intimate family gathering or a soiree for 50 close friends, professional advice from today’s top chefs, master mixologists, lifestyle experts and party planning specialists is just a phone call or a mouse click away.

Kahlúa’s panel of entertaining gurus dispense guidance about everything from dealing with uninvited guests and making introductions to party theme suggestions and stocking the perfect in-home bar. The team is comprised of:

Ted Allen – a judge on Bravo’s “Top Chef” and Food Network’s “Iron Chef America
Marcy Blum – founder of Marcy Blum Associates, a world-renowned event planning company
Elisa Strauss – cake designer extraordinaire and founder of New York City’s Confetti Cakes
Tony Abou-Ganim – The Modern Mixologist
Julie Edelman – aka “The Accidental Housewife”

Suzy Kilgore, Kahlúa brand director at Pernod Ricard USA says “We wanted to give consumers the unique opportunity to enhance their own home entertaining talents by giving them access to these amazing experts”.

When party throwers call in to 1-888 Kahlua Tips or log on to Kahluatips.com, they can learn about setting the tone of a party, using music to enhance the mood, how to better their conversation skills, whether electronic invitations or hard-copy invitations are appropriate, different schools of thoughts on using plastic versus glass barware, and a whole host of other useful guidelines for creating an event their guests will not likely forget.

Kahlua Party Tips
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