Not being a professional bartender, just an amateur with a passion for cocktails, I have always been willing to learn ever more, not just how to mix an awsome cocktail but also to envision and manage the ideal entertainment spot. Having now the time to concentrate on what I really enjoy, I wanted to make a special contribution to the management of beverage and bar operations.

Exactly who invented it and where remains unclear, but many agree that the cocktail was born in the United States. Some would say that the first cocktail appeared one hundred and fifty odd years ago, when the first professional bartender, Jerry Thomas, mixed a Martinez, the cocktail that later became the Martini.

The cocktail culture

With integrated resorts set to take off in Singapore, we are now witnessing a nascent cocktail culture in South east Asia, the same way a budding wine culture started to develop in Asia in the early 90s, but this time with much more media coverage to whip it up. These days, there are more cocktails that you can count. Virtually any alcoholic liquid and flavoring can be combined, and new cocktails are being invented all the time. They can be as simple as a classic martini or as complex as a margarita, where citrus juice and tequila are sipped from a glass rimmed with salt. Liquids of similar densities can be stirred. Limpid, transparent ingredients call for gentle stirring, as too much agitation can cause the cocktail to turn cloudy. In order to be mixed, spirits, syrups and liqueurs, that are liquids of different densities, need to be shaken vigorously, as in a margarita, for example. Here are the most common types of drinks, you may come across:

• A cobbler is a combination of spirit, fruit, and mixed berries with mint as a decoration. This drink is usually served with a straw.

• A collins is a long and refreshing drink made with lots of ice. There are two versions: Tom Collins and John Collins.
  
  
• A cooler is almost a collins , but with a spiral of citrus peel trailing over the highball's rim. Contains soda or ginger ale, and perhaps bitters or grenadine.

• A fizz is a collins type. It is always shaken and served in a highball with straws.

• Wine based cups are hot weather drinks, the most famous being Pimm's No 1 Cup.
  
  
• A flip belongs to the eggnog family. It contains a fresh egg yolk but no milk. it is served in a wine glass.



• A julep is a long cocktail with fresh mint steeped in Bourbon.

• A mojito is similar to a julep but with a rum base.
  
  
• A punch is traditionally rum and water, hot or iced, with sugar and orange or lemon juice. Now made with spirits and mixers, orange and lemon slices.

• A rickey is an unsweetened cocktail of spirit, lime juice and soda water.

• A sangaree is a 19th century American mix influenced by the Spanish red wine based sangria. Now made with soda, wines, ales, spirits and sweetened.
  
  
• A sling is a spirit based cocktail with citrus juice and soda water, served in a highball with ice.

There are a few essential mixing techniques such as muddling fruit, sugar and herbs, shaking cocktail ingredients, stirring or gently swirling spirits, blending ice and solid cocktail ingredients and building, the simplest cocktail making method.

Bar terms and practices

It is best to use a double-ended pony-jigger when making cocktails because it helps you measure the specific amount of spirit, liqueur or juice specified in a recipe. We may use any of the following units for our measurements:

• One fluid ounce (1 oz) is equivalent to 3 cl , 30 ml , or 30 cc.

• The standard size of a cocktail is 3 oz or 90 ml.
  
  
• Medium size cocktails are about 5 oz or 150 ml.

• Long drinks contain no more than 8 oz or 240 ml.

• Wine glasses hold from 4 to 5 oz.
  
  
• A glass is always filled up to a level of 3/4, not all the way.

Common bar terms and practices:

• Neat means serving a drink "straight" without any ice, water or mixer.

• On the rocks means a drink poured over ice cubes.
  
  
• Proof is the American description of alcohol content. 100 proof is 50% alcohol by volume. When you place spirits above 80 proof (above 40% vol.) such as gin, vodka and eaux-de-vie in the freezer, you'll notice they do not freeze. However, do not try to do the same with lower proof spirits as the bottle might crack.

• A Pousse-café is a drink made of layers, created by floating a liqueur or spirit over a heavier one, followed by the next lightest. Not to be confused with our Café calva, which is a drop of Calvados (French apple brandy from Normandy) at the bottom of what is left of a warm coffee cup.

• A short drink is served in an old-fashioned glass.



• A tall drink is served in a highball with ice.



• A twist is a thin, long strip of peel twisted in the middle and dropped into the drink.



• A zest is a strip of lemon or orange peel.

Each drink must be served in its respective glass, which may be a cocktail or martini glass, a collins (highball) a rocks (old-fashioned) glass and many more (see glassware).

Useful tips

Here are a few useful tips to keep in mind while preparing your drinks:

• Chilling a glass: always chill a cocktail glass before you pour any liquid into it. Put the required number of glasses in the freezer for a few hours before you need to use them.
  
  
• Frosting the rim of a glass: part of the pleasure of a cocktail lies in its presentation. To achieve a crusty look, rub a wedge of lime, lemon or orange around the rim of the glass and dip the rim either in fine sea salt or superfine caster sugar in a saucer.

• Ice must be fresh and dry, in the form of crushed ice or hard ice cubes. If possible, use the best filtered water or bottled mineral water to make ice. Ice cubes are used for cocktails made in a shaker. Crushed ice is used for drinks created in a blender. Ice cubes are used in old-fashioned glasses and highballs, never in cocktail glasses, unless you are using ice to chill them before pouring in the drink. Remember not to use the ice remaining in a shaker for the next drink, because the ice will be broken and retain the flavor of the previous drink.

• Gomme syrup or sugar syrup can be prepared in advance. Gradually stir 500g of granulated sugar into 1.3 litres of boiling water in a saucepan. Bring to the boil and simmer. Skim it, leave to cool, and pour into small, clean bottles. Store in a dark cupboard.
  
  
• Egg white can be combined with other ingredients and then shaken to give a drink a white frothy head.

Tools and equipment

Just a few inexpensive tools and equipment will assist you in making your cocktails. Other tools, although less essential, will help you unleash your creativity as you grow more confortable with the various mixing techniques. Hereinbelow, you'll find the tools needed in order to get started: anticlockwise from the right of the photo:

• Shaker: used for mixing various spirits and juice together with ice cubes. The model shown is a compact stainless steel shaker made of a small lid, a strainer and a receptacle. Another type of shaker, known as a Boston shaker is made half glass and half stainless steel.
  
  
• Pony-jigger: used for correct dosage in order to balance the flavors and strength of a cocktail.

• Muddler: used to mash sprigs of mint or berries into a pulp at the bottom of a mixing glass or an old-fashioned glass as above.

• Bar spoon is a long , flat headed spoon with a twisted shaft used for stirring drinks in a mixing glass, pouring layered drinks, muddling and crushing.
  
  
• A Strainer is used to pour shaken drinks through into the glass. The strainer above pictured has a spring coiled around its head to fit neatly inside a mixing glass and hold the strainer in place. It may be used in conjunction with a blender. Note that the shaker above pictured already comes with a strainer.

Other tools and equipment:

• Blender: an electric blender equipped with a sufficiently powerful motor (at least 500W), coming with a glass receptacle and a closing lid. Must be capable to smoothly blend spirits with freshly cut fruits and crushed ice.

• Juicer: important for making fresh grapefruit, orange, lemon and lime juices.



• Dash pourer: used for drops and dashes of bitters and some liqueurs when floating them.
  
  
• Grater: used to dust a drink with chocolate or nutmeg.



• Strawberry huller: used to remove the stem and hull from a strawberry.