How to Balance a Cocktail

The Perfect Sip

Your training is almost complete. Today we’re cocktail tasting, cocktail balancing and cocktail perfecting. In this finale of our "Getting Started" series, we’re breaking down the steps to deconstructing a cocktail, balancing it and then improving it. et us introduce you to a sweet little friend of ours—the Cocktail of the Week. Who will also be our model this week. So get in here!

Too Long, Didn't Listen

(00:00) How to Balance a Cocktail

(01:54) Cocktail of the Week: The Plain & Simple (Daiquiri)

(03:59) Why fresh lime juice matters

(05:21) A brief sojourn into rum

(08:31) How to taste cocktails like an expert (no, you're doing it wrong)

(15:32) The secret to balancing cocktails (hint: it involves homework)

(24:02) Simple tips to improve your cocktail

(30:00) Closing

Recipes

The Plain & Simple (Daiquiri)

• 2 parts white rum
• 1 part fresh lime juice
• 1 part simple syrup (1:1 white cane sugar to water)
• Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake until fully chilled. Double strain into a chilled, stemmed cocktail glass. Serve without garnish.

Ben's Preferred Plain & Simple

• 2 parts Plantation Three Stars rum
• 3/4 part fresh lime juice
• 3/4 part simple syrup (1:1)
• 1 lime wheel for garnish
• Combine rum, lime juice, and simple syrup in a shaker with ice. Shake until fully chilled. Double strain into a chilled, stemmed cocktail glass. Float lime wheel on top of cocktail.

Sour Plain & Simple

• 2 parts white rum
• 1 part fresh lime juice
• 3/4 part simple syrup
• Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake until fully chilled. Double strain into a chilled, stemmed cocktail glass.

Sweet Plain & Simple

• 2 parts white rum
• 3/4 part fresh lime juice
• 1 part simple syrup
• Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake until fully chilled. Double strain into a chilled, stemmed cocktail glass.

Spirit Forward Plain & Simple

• 2 parts white rum
• 3/4 part fresh lime juice
• 3/4 part simple syrup
• Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake until fully chilled. Double strain into a chilled, stemmed cocktail glass.

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Books & Equipment Links

The links below that point to Amazon are affiliate links. If you click on them and make a purchase we may receive a small compensation at no extra cost to you. Links to any other destination are not affiliate links.

Books

We own and recommend these books:

The 12 Bottle Bar: Make Hundreds of Cocktails with Just Twelve Bottles by David Solmonson, Lesley Jacobs Solmonson

Liquid Intelligence: The Art and Science of the Perfect Cocktail by Dave Arnold

Imbibe! by David Wondrich

Cocktail Codex by Alex Day, Nick Fauchald, David Kaplan

Equipment

Products we own, like and use:

• Measuring tools
• OXO Good Grips Mini Angled Measuring Cup, 2 Oz capacity
• OXO Metal Angled Measuring Cup
• OXO SteeL Double Jigger
• Shakers
• This shaking set is sold as two separate items on Amazon, you will need both
• Cocktail Kingdom Koriko Small Weighted Shaking Tin
• Cocktail Kingdom Koriko Large Weighted Shaking Tin
• Mixing Glasses/Tins
• Viski Crystal Mixing Glass, 17 oz
• Pint glass: you don’t need a link for this do you?
• Peelers
• OXO Good Grips Y-Peeler
• Bar Spoons
• Crate & Barrel: Bar Spoon with Muddler
• Cork Screw / Bottle Opener
• True Truetap Double Hinged Waiters Corkscrew
• Bar Towels
• White Flour Sack Towels
• Glassware
• Highball
• Strauss 13-Oz. Cooler Glass
• Lowball
• Crescent 10-Oz. Double Old-Fashioned Glass
• Strauss 11-Oz. Double Old-Fashioned Glass
• Stemmed
• Mercer 10-Oz. Coupe Glass

Products we don’t own but would consider buying:

• Measuring Tools
• Cocktail Farmer Standard Jigger
• Piña Barware Bell/Leopold Style Stainless Steel Jigger 2oz. / 1oz.
• Piña Barware Slim/Japanese Style Stainless Steel Jigger 2oz. / 1oz.
• Shakers
• A Bar Above Weighted Craft Boston Shaker Set (Single set slightly less expensive than the Koriko)
• Houdini Boston Cocktail Shaker (a well rated pint glass set)
• Barfly Double Wall Diamond Lattice Mixing Tin
• Knives
• Cocktail Kingdom Buswell Paring Knife
• Victorinox 3.25 Inch Swiss Classic Paring Knife (Green - Black seems to be in high demand)
• Cutting Board
• Jelli Reversible Black Marble 14.5"x11" Cutting Board
• Bar Spoons
• Cocktail Kingdom Skull (We wouldn’t really buy this but it looks cool)
• A metal finger, not a spoon (I could resist linking to this one)
• Homestia Gothic Skull Bar Spoon (A cheaper skull)
• Viski Stainless Steel Weighted Barspoon
• Hawthorne Strainers
• Barfly Bar Strainer, Stainless Steel
• A Bar Above Hawthorne Strainer
• Julep Strainers
• Cocktail Kingdom Premium Julep Strainer

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