Keeping it fresh with the garnishes
With the several hundreds of thousands of drinks you can make with a nicely stocked bar, there are many garnishes you can have on hand for those cocktails. A rule, when putting together a party at your home: KEEP IT SIMPLE! You will watch these shows that show you beautiful ways to present the garnish with the beverage. The one thing they don’t show you is how much time it would take if you had to make many drinks calling for that garnish. You need to ask yourself, “Do I have the time to prep to show off my skills making this fancy garnish?” Keep in mind that the garnishes for the drink are just a small portion of what you have to prep prior to your guests showing up. Most people, though they will ooh and aah when they get the first drink with the artistically cut fruit or veggie in it, could really care less about this skill. Another thing to keep in mind that if you are prepping the fruits and vegetables for the party, they will not look as crisp as when you were doing them. The apples will begin to brown, the citrus fruits will begin to dry out, the veggies will begin to droop, etc. I, myself, am more concerned about the freshness of what’s topping my drink. I want to be able to bite into my apple, or suck to juice out of my lemon, to enhance the cocktail and to give reason as to why it is there to dress it up in the first place.
Whenever I have the opportunity to host a party, cutting the fruit for garnishes is the very last thing I do. I keep it to a maximum of five fruits and vegetables, dependant on the theme of the party. Lime and lemons are the most common garnishes for drinks. Oranges, stuffed olives (bleu cheese being my favorite), maraschino cherries, and apple slices. Keep them nicely sealed and in the refridgerator until the party starts. Keep the cutting down to a minimum by only cutting two pieces or wedges of lime and one piece of the others, for each person coming to the party, so you will not have more than you need. You can always cut more as the night goes.
Some basic needs for the bar that you will need for garnishing or enhancing a cocktail, minus the fruit and veggies. Some of these items can spend many years in your cabinet:
Angostura Aromatic Bitters - This is the original bitters. You can now get other flavors and I suggest you try them. However, this one is a must at any bar.
Hot Sauce, (such as Tabasco or Frank’s Hot Sauce is always good to have on hand).
Worchester Sauce - To enhance your bloody marys.
Pepper and Salt (table salt)
Nutmeg
Cinnamon
Kosher salt for rimming
Two - Three different flavors of sugar for rimming glasses.
Honey
Small bottle of pitted green olives - I suggest you stuff these with wnat you want. Stuffed olives, pimento, and anchovies are the most common.
Prepared Horseradish - This is perfect for a spice bloody mary.
Maraschino Cherries - Just a small package.
Cocktail Onions - The smallest package of these that you can find. Gibsons just aren’t called out that much anymore.
Granulated Sugar or simple syrup (1:1 sugar to water).
This will get you started. Check out the video to see a simple way to cut lemons and limes. Next week will we get into the washes and the secondary liquors and liqueurs. If you have any questions or ideas you want to share for an upcoming story, please feel free to contact me at [email protected].
Cheers!
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Category: Your Home Bar Blog
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