Whether you’re at a bar to meet friends or to meet new ones, the drinks that are being served are either Built, Shaken or Stirred….. but what’s the difference and why does it make a difference?
Lets break it down….
Built drinks are things like a Rum and Coke or a Vodka with Club Soda – Glass-Ice-Alcohol-Mix-Garnish and Straw, EASY!!!
Stirred drinks are things like a Negroni or a Manhattan – Mixing Glass-Spirit-Ice-Stir-Strain into appropriate glass
Shaken drinks are things like a Cosmopolitan or a Whiskey Sour – Shaking glass-Mix-Spirit-Ice-Shake-Strain into appropriate glass
Built drinks are the easiest of the three and 60% of drinks in a busy nightclub are made like this. What about the other 40% of drinks?
20% of drinks would be BEER!!! After that everything else is either shaken or stirred.
Bartenders all over the world have their own method of shaking and stirring with their own style and panache. With proper training you learn that although Ice is your friend in a lot of cocktails one doesn’t want to OVER dilute drinks with improper use of our frozen friend H2O. Whether stirring or shaking a cocktail ice should always be added to the mixing glass AFTER the ingredients have been added, this will minimize the dilution and result in a better cocktail. Stirring is a technique, usually reserved for ‘Spirit-forward’ cocktails (cocktails without any non-alcoholic ingredients) and is all about preparing a drink with ice to both chill and dilute the drink without bruising the spirit. Shaking is the most fun way of making a cocktail and has been taken to unbelievable levels of style by bartenders who want to impress their guests. A good shake can be the difference between a great drink and a happy guest or a bad one and a disappointed guest. Shaking not only chills a cocktail, dilutes it and mixes the ingredients together but it can also introduce air, texture or ‘mouth-feel’ to a libation. With the addition of egg whites to a cocktail like an Amaretto sour, when shaken can dramatically change the dynamic of the feeling that is experienced when sipping on it.
Question: Whats the best method to use?
Answer: It all depends on what drink you’re making.
So, grab your shaking tins and bar spoons and figure out how you are going to build, shake and stir with passion, style and your own little twist.
Australian Whisky: Rising Through The Ranks
Starward Distillery in Melbourne, Australia
As you may or may not already know, a growing number of countries around the world are entering the global whisky market and creating competition for the long-established brands we know and love. Australia happens to be one of the countries that’s quickly making it’s mark on the whisky scene, with more than 120 distilleries currently listed there.
Sullivan’s Cove is one of the oldest and most renowned Australian whisky distilleries, founded in 1994 with a focus on creating entirely Australian whisky from locally sourced Tasmanian barley and water. Since then Sullivan’s Cove has rapidly emerged into the industry, winning numerous awards over the years including an award for “World’s Best Single Malt” in 2014 at the World Whiskies Awards.
Many other Australian distilleries are hopeful about expanding into worldwide markets in the near future. Starward Distillery (pictured above) is another globally recognized Australian whisky brand with a strong focus on exports to Western markets. Other Australian whiskies to keep an eye out for in the future include Hellyers Road, Limeburners, and Nant.
Does this mean we’ll see Australian whisky break through into the Western market and compete with some of our all-time favourite brands? Read more >>>