5 Handy, No Fuss Kitchen Utensils I Use For Preparing Batch Cocktails
When it comes to hosting a cocktail party at home, I prefer to prepare well-flavoured, complexly fruity, tart and sour batch cocktails which are good-to-taste and easy to serve.
One of the reasons for the long-standing popularity of these cocktails is that they contain sumptuous amounts of seasonal fruity mixers and sweet and sour flavour accents — all proportionately added to fit the recipe.
The other is that these mixes – which inevitably include one or the other among the roster of classic drinks like mai tais, sangrias, mojitos and margaritas – are conducive to being prepared as batch recipes. That is, they can be brought together in a large container in greater quantities without the risk of over dilution or over muddling or flavour shifts. And what’s more, it is with the simplest of apparatus that I prepare these drinks. No fancy tools, no fussy and hard-to-operate apparatus – lending them a rustic and homely charm befitting a house party.
While blending batch cocktails, one of the biggest challenges is amassing the right kind of utensils for blending. One needs a big bowl or container to make a mojito fitting 6-7 serves. And such large vessels and utensils are scarcely available in my home bar. So, one day, when I needed to prepare a mai tai for a 6-people cocktail party, in the absence of a large container and stirrer, I headed to the kitchen to look for something to mix the drink. That’s when I realised that the kitchen is the underrated supporting actor of my home mixology.
Here, I find all the instruments I would need to fix batch cocktails without the hassle of sourcing hard-to-use fussy equipment that might end up digging a deep hole in my pocket. If you are an amateur mixologist and share a similar story, check out some of these kitchen utensils that I found to be readily available, sturdy equipment for blending mojitos and mai tais, which always turn out superb!
Large Steel Vessel
A large vessel in which I otherwise soak dals and pulses for fermenting them to make dosa batter, this container ends up coming in handy when I am preparing batch cocktails. It is roomy enough to be able to hold a number of different fruit juices, mixers, spirits and garnishes with space to use a large ladle for stirring and subsequently serving the drink. The steel vessel allows me to stir all mai tai and sangria ingredients without the risk of spilling because all the myriad ingredients fit amply in its vast body.
Also Read: Everyday Kitchen Ingredients To Elevate Cocktails With
Measuring Jug
Another handy equipment picked up from the kitchen is a measuring jug. This is the one I borrowed from my grandmother who would use it to measure out simple syrup while making sweet treats. Now, it is my go-to utensil for proportioning spirits, juices and syrups in larger sums instead of keeping count of multiple cups or bowls used for measuring.
The Handy Ladle
The powerhouse of my home mixology, this sturdy wooden ladle is called over to the bar whenever I need to blend drinks that require a good stirring. This is especially true in the case of batch preparations of manhattans, mojitos and negronis. The ladle is actually a handy tool while making curries and dals, but it doubles as a cocktail stirrer that mixes all ingredients without bruising the fruits too much.
A Sturdy Churner
The churner, which is basically a long wooden instrument with a circular mould at one end, is used conventionally for making buttermilk. The round circular mould has several spokes which facilitate aeration. There could be no better instrument other than the churner to introduce foamy, bubbly textures into several cocktails prepared in large proportions. The churner also prompts a better integration of cocktail ingredients, making for a silky mai tai or mojito mix.
Extra Large Sieve
Straining is an important step in mixology. I prefer my cocktails to have a clean finish, necessitating the use of an extra large sieve while making batch drinks. The cocktails I prepare in my trusted vessel can be put through this sieve so they acquire a clear look and rid themselves of any residue. What gives a prettier look to these clear-looking cocktails are fresh garnishes like herbs, dehydrated fruits and edible flowers.
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