Here’s How You Can Build Cocktail Skills At A DIY Mixology Session With Friends
When you and your most intimate group of friends are interested in honing your mixology craft, one of the finest ways to pick up a few cocktail techniques would be to set-up a DIY session. Move aside fancy equipment and overwhelming mixology sessions: a simple DIY mixology hour, curated for friendly interaction and learning experiences can go a long way in enabling cocktail-making enthusiasts to master basic blending techniques. All you would need are some essential spirits and mixers, a few flavour accents and very, very rudimentary mixing equipment.
What is absolutely essential however is a very enthusiastic crop of friends who would participate in the session and share their skills and takeaways with gusto. Whether it is a gin and herb cooler or a smoked whisky concoction, learning to mix together would be quite an engaging, interactive activity which will be remembered long after the session is over. Here’s how you can plan this no-fuss DIY mixology session:
Setting The Scene
If you are hosting this mixology class at home, you might want to craft makeshift bar stations for all your friends. A limited group of people would mean each one has their own space to get creative. Set up a small bar counter for your friends either on foldable furniture or section your kitchen island or counter into smaller areas reserved for mixing. At each mixing station, arrange:
– at least two spirits such as whisky or gin, which can be used for blending both shaken and stirred cocktails.
– 3-4 varieties of mixers including tonic water, fruit juices, soda water, carbonated lemon-lime fizz, ginger ale and more depending upon the cocktail recipes you would work with
– flavour accents in the form of citrus bitters, lime juice, elderflower liqueur, brewed teas, shrubs and cordials that would add more layered nuances into drinks
– garnishes such as dried edible flowers, dehydrated citrus wheels, cinnamon sticks or star anise, fresh herbs and fresh fruit chunks
– basic mixology apparatus, including a cocktail shaker and stirrer (depending on what your friends will be bringing in their DIY kits)
Divide Into Teams
This mixology session has to be so designed that you end up learning a few tips and tricks from each other. For this purpose, divide the group into two teams. For instance, if you are working with two spirits such as gin and whisky, then each group can focus on one respective spirit.
Those working with gin can explore botanical, fresh flavours through their cocktails. Think cucumber, citrus, herbs and tonic water as ingredients that can be used for blending these crisp drinks. For their part, those blending using whisky can focus on developing deeper flavours in their cocktails including ginger ale, bitters, honey, apple juice or spices like cinnamon.
Work without recipes to make things more interesting such that each team can design and concoct a cocktail using one mixing technique such as shaking, stirring or crafting a flip cocktail. Once the drink is blended, the other team can taste it, share feedback and exchange notes on what worked, and what can be improved.
Learning Through Conversation
All the while, as you and your friends mix drinks, keep up a constant conversation that delineates what is being added to a cocktail blend and the step-by-step processes involved in its making. One team member can jot down the cocktail recipes such that at the end of the mixology hour, each team can go home with at least two to three new cocktail concoctions.
As you converse and share mixology hacks, you will be able to pick up on little tweaks like dilution techniques, garnishing expertise, flavour balance and more. This can become a learning experience of the whole mixology session, along with the last few minutes reserved for demonstrations of a particularly tricky blending method or garnishing hack.
Starter Cocktails
Here are two simple cocktails that you can work with at the mixology session. These are just blends to get you started, with ample room for imbuing them with your own creative genius.
The Green Gin Cooler
Ingredients:
- 30 ml Tanqueray No. Ten Gin or any other premium gin of choice
- 15 ml cucumber juice
- 10 ml lime juice
- 30 ml tonic water
- Ice as required
- Mint sprig for garnish
Method:
– In a cocktail shaker with ice, bring together 30 ml Tanqueray No. Ten Gin or any other premium gin of choice, 15 ml cucumber juice and 10 ml lime juice and shake well. Transfer into a cocktail glass filled with ice and top this off with 30 ml tonic water. Garnish with a mint sprig.
Also Read: The 3 Bartending Tools In My Home Bar – And How I Build Cocktails Using Them
The Whisky Ginger Mix
Ingredients:
- 30 ml Johnnie Walker Black Label or any other premium whisky of choice
- 50 ml ginger ale
- A dash of citrus bitters
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- Ice as required
- Orange peel for garnish
Method:
– To a cocktail shaker with ice, add 30 ml Johnnie Walker Black Label or any other premium whisky of choice, a dash of citrus bitters and 1 tablespoon lime juice. Shake well before straining into a highball glass filled with ice. Top the mix off with 50 ml ginger ale and garnish with an orange peel.
Key Takeaways:
– Organising a DIY mixology session with friends can be an interesting way to hone your cocktail blending skills.
– Split your group into two teams, where each one works with a particular spirit and a set of mixers to craft customised cocktails.
– Reserve the last few minutes of the session for a demonstration of particularly tricky blending methods or garnishing hacks.
FAQs:
– How can one go about organising a DIY mixology session with friends for building cocktail making skills?
Curate a space for each guest to make cocktails so they will have enough room for blending. Also split the group into teams so that each team can work on honing a particular mixing skill using just one spirit. Converse with each other throughout the mixing process to share tips, tricks and mixing hacks.
– Which are the two spirits that you can work with during this DIY mixology hour?
Two starter spirits can be whisky and gin. While the former explores deeper, smokier and robust flavours, the latter can provide a contrasting element through crisp and fresh tasting notes, leading to a more diverse tasting experience.
– What are a couple of cocktails that can be the starting off points at such a gathering?
Two basic cocktails like the green gin cooler or the whisky ginger mix can be interesting starting off points at this DIY session.
All cocktails listed use 30 ml liquor measurements for single serves. Drink Responsibly. This communication is for audiences above the age of 25.
