Author: David

  • Easy Guide to Alcohol pt 2 – Liqueurs

    Easy Guide to Alcohol pt 2 – Liqueurs

    For an explanation of how alcohol and spirits are made check out the first post in the series,

    Easy Guide to Alcohol pt 1 – fermentation, distillation and spirits

    Time for some sugar.

    The easiest way to differentiate between spirits and liqueurs is that liqueurs are usually much sweeter do to the addition of significant amounts of added sugar. If you compare the sweet taste of the Italian liqueur Lemoncello to a lemon vodka (as both are lemon based) you’ll notice the Lemoncello is significantly sweeter – it has had a significant amount of sugar added to it.

    How Liqueurs are made

    A typical liqueur is a combination of a base spirit, such as vodka or brandy, raw flavouring ingredients, and added sugar.

    Broken down and simplified this becomes:

    Base Spirit + Flavouring + Sugar = Liqueur.

    Let’s look at each of these components in a little more depth.

    Base Spirit

    The base spirit refers to the distilled alcohol that makes up the bulk of the liqueur. Depending on the mash (fermented alcohol) that was used in distillation and how the spirit was treated post-distillation (was it aged in barrels? Charcoal filtered?) the spirit can be used merely to add the alcoholic-bulk to the liqueur or as an actual flavour component.

    If the major flavouring of the liqueur is to come from the added ingredients (oranges, coffee etc) then the makers will commonly use neutral spirit (odourless, flavourless spirit with a very high ABV – you can think of it like a very strong vodka). The high level of alcohol and lack of flavour in the spirit helps draw the flavours out of the added ingredients and allow them to be fully pronounced and uninfluenced by the spirit. A well known example is the French liqueur Cointreau. which is made by soaking orange peels in neutral spirit – when you taste Cointreau you get orange flavours but the taste of the spirit itself remains very much in the background.

    Other liqueurs may want to use the spirit to add to the overall flavour – spirits such as whiskeys or brandies tend to be distilled to a lower ABV and retain more of the flavour from the mash, and are also commonly barrel aged. When used as your base they will give the liqueur some of the more complex flavours that tend to go along with these spirits – smokey flavours, rich chocolate or coffee notes, vanilla, it all depends on the particular spirit used.

    Let’s look at an example of a brandy based liqueur to compare to neutral spirit liqueurs:

    Grand Marnier

    Like Cointreau, Grand Marnier is a French orange liqueur brand, made by soaking orange peels in spirit. But Grand Marnier has a darker colour and heavier, richer flavours (it also tends to cost a bit more).

    Why?

    Grand Marnier is made from a blend of neutral spirit and Cognac. Cognac is a type of French grape brandy that is legally required to be aged in Oak barrels for a minimum of two years; during this time the Cognac picks up flavouring and colour from the barrels. Therefore, when the Cognac is used as a base spirit the final finished liqueur is also going to show these added flavours.

    Flavour

    Liqueurs are made from a huge variety of raw ingredients which gives us a similarly huge variety of flavours. Common raw ingredients include fruits, herbs, spices, cream, coffee – almost anything you can cook with you can use to make a liqueur, and the flavours tend to be stronger in liqueurs than in spirits.

    So how do we actually get these flavours into the liqueurs? There are a few methods:

    • Maceration/Infusion – soaking the raw ingredient in alcohol or water, which slowly draws the flavours out (this process can take months). You can think of this as similar to how you get flavour from tea.
    • Percolation – similar to brewing coffee and often used when the raw ingredient is a leaf or a herb. The spirit (often heated) is allowed to drip through the raw ingredient, extracting the essence and flavour as it goes.
    • Distillation – the same method as flavouring distilled spirits, the raw ingredients are placed in the still to steep for a couple of hours before the mixture is re-distilled, giving a lighter, softer flavour.

    Sugar

    Liqueurs usually have at least 100g sugar per liter of alcohol which gives us that strong, sweet taste that they’re known for (not much luck if you’re ‘Low Carb and Loving It’). Different brands and styles of liqueur will have different amounts of sugar depending on what they intend to be used for.

    Particularly high sugar liqueurs are sometimes known as Crèmes, such as Crème de menthe or Crème de banane; this is because they have so much sugar added they have reached an almost syrup like consistency and is not referring to the use of dairy. Crème liqueurs tend to be relatively low in alcohol (15-25%) and used only as cocktail ingredients as this level is sugar makes them simply too sweet to drink by themselves (if you’re bored then try drinking a glass of Crème de Banane – you’ll be looking for your toothbrush in no time).

    Sugar is often added after the spirits have been flavoured in the form of a sugar syrup or simple syrup – a mixture of dissolved sugar and water. This allows all the components to mix together well and the water also  has the other happy side effect of lowering the ABV to the desired level ready for consumption.

    An example Liqueur

    We’ve looked at base spirits, flavours and sugar. Let’s recap this by looking at all of these in an example of a common liqueur:

    Triple Sec

    Triple Sec is an orange flavoured liqueur which gets its orange flavour from the oils in bitter orange peels. These peels are soaked in neutral spirit so the spirit is giving no distinctive flavour of its own – it is neutral. The high level of alcohol helps draw the oils and flavour from the orange peels, giving us what is basically an orange vodka (although a very strong one at this stage).

    Once we have this orange vodka we can add plenty of sugar and water (essential a simple syrup, or sugar syrup) to bring it the ABV and flavour that we are looking for; in the case of Triple Sec that would be around 25% abv. Put it in a bottle and it’s ready to be used in your Margarita!

    So, to brake it down Triple sec would be:

    Base spirit + Flavouring + Sugar = Liqueur

    Neutral Spirit + Bitter Orange Peels + Sugar + Water = Triple Sec

    Liqueurs are pretty easy to make at home –there will be an upcoming lesson showing you just how to do this.

    Why is all this important?

    If we want to make great tasting cocktails at home then we need to understand what we are actually making. If we understand the different ingredients and components of a cocktail then it will be easier for us to make them. By now we should have a good foundation of spirits and liqueurs which means that we’ll be able to look more in-depth at the other components of the cocktails themselves – to do this, we’re going to deconstruct the cocktail in an upcoming post.

    Key Ideas So far

    Fermentation – chemical conversion of sugar in alcohol and co2 buy yeast, gives us alcohol to around 15%.

    Distillation  – Pot and column stills separate the alcohol from other liquids in the mash and increase the ABV.

    Spirits – Distilled beverages, abv over 20%, little to no added sugar or colour (whisky, gin etc)

    Liqueurs – sweet from added sugar and strong in added flavours, base spirit + flavour + sugar

    If you have any questions or comments then feel free to leave them below or contact me.

    // David

  • Weekend Cocktail – Cuba Libre

    Weekend Cocktail – Cuba Libre

    Cuba Libre

    Another nice and easy cocktail just in time for the weekend, but don’t let the simple ingredients fool you as this is more than just a humble rum and coke – the addition of fresh lime juice gives a balance that makes this an easy drinking cocktail perfect in warmer weather. The balance in this case is achieved through the combination of sweet:sour ingredients, with the sweetness coming from the sugar in the Coca Cola and the sour from the citric acid in the lime juice.

    .

    A little History

    The Cuba Libre, as the name suggests, originated in Cuba sometime around 1900 when Coca Cola was first introduced to the island. The name is thought to be based on a battle cry of the Cuba Liberation Army during their war of Independence in 1898, and was called out in recognition of their newly found independence during some heavy drinking sessions.

     

    Making the Cuba Libre

     

    Cuba Libre Ingredients

    You will need

    • Collins/Highball glass
    • 50ml Rum (preferably Cuban)
    • 1 lime (preferably ripe)
    • Coca Cola

     

    Mixing Method

    Take your highball and use your measure to pour in 50ml Cuban rum (I’ve used Havana Club as it’s actually Cuban but if you’re from the USA then this isn’t going to be available – light Cruzan or Bacardi will do).

     

    Next, cut your lime in half and use a citrus press to squeeze 15ml lime juice (you can use your measure again to ensure you get the right amount.

     

    Fill your glass with cubed ice – nice big ice cubes are best as they will melt slower than smaller ones. Make sure to get as much ice in the glass as you can – more ice will allow the drink to cool faster and also stops us from pouring too much Coke.

     

    Rum, lime and ice in the glass means it’s time for the Coke. Fill the glass with Coke to the top, but leave a small amount of room so that you can actually pick the glass up and move it around without spilling your cocktail.

     

    Finish the Cuba Libre by cutting a nice wedge of lime and dropping it into the glass, and feel free to add a straw if you feel like it.

     

    Cuba Libre, ready to drink

     

    Done!

     

    Variations to Try

    Since you already have the ingredients a good little experiment is to make a Rum and Coke (Cuba Libra without fresh lime) and try the two drinks next to each other. What you should notice is that the addition of the sour citric acid from the lime juice in the Cuba Libra has offset the sweetness of the Coca Cola and helped even out the flavour, or balance, when compared to the rum and Coke.

     

    The next easy variation to try is changing up the rum. Cuban rums tend to be very light in style so if you swap it out for something darker (Mount Gay, Appletons or even darker with something like Goslings Black Seal) you’re going to end up with a heavier, ‘richer’ flavour. You could also try using a spiced rum (Sailor Jerrys, Kraken, Captain Morgan’s Spiced), depending on which brand you use you can get some strong vanilla, citrus and cinnamon style flavours coming through.

     

    Let me know what combinations you try and how they work out by leaving a comment below or posting on the facebook page.

     

    /David

  • Booze News – Bols Natural Yoghurt liqueur

    A new release in the world of booze and alcohol today.

    .

    Image (C) Bols
    Image (C) Bols

    New Product – Bols Natural Yoghurt Liqueur

    .

    An interesting new liqueur is being added to the international line-up by the Dutch liquor company Bols.

    Bols Natural Yoghurt liqueur is getting ready for launch in the UK and some selected markets soon and looks like it could be an interesting variation on the standard cream liqueur options that are currently available, such as Baileys or Amarula.

    Bols say that the yoghurt is made from milk from Dutch cows and ‘made of only natural ingredients’ – it looks to have a pretty long shelf life though so I’ll be interested at having a closer look at the bottle to try and see how they’ve achieved this.

    .

    I haven’t really used much from the Bols range lately, but the yoghurt liqueur catches my interest as it’s a step in a new direction and could provide some new flavours and textures to use in cocktails.

    .

    I’ll try and get a product to review sometime in the near future and let you know if it’s actually worth the hype.

    .

    / David

  • Essential Guide to Home Cocktail Bar Glassware

    Essential Guide to Home Cocktail Bar Glassware

    Glassware

    We’ve looked at the essential bar tools and the essential ingredients that you need to stock your home bar, so  now is the perfect time to look at glassware.

    Using the right glass for each cocktail is very important. Different glass shapes can help bring out and accentuate certain qualities of a cocktail including the aroma and flavour and having the right size will also ensure that the drinks you’re preparing will fit correctly and not leave you with too much/little liquid.

    Bars generally have the luxury of larger budgets than us at home and can afford to buy many different types of glasses (including some pretty exotic ones). These fancy shapes and styles look great but are luckily are not necessary for your home bar.

    If you want to make cocktails on a realistic budget you’ll be able to make a huge variety with just the following glassware.

    Highball/Collins

    Buy Collins Glasses
    A Collins is a tall glass tumbler that usually holds around 300-400ml (10-14oz)– a highball is similar in size but is usually a little taller and more narrow and for home use you can usually interchange the two. An ice filled Collins is the perfect size for the Tom Collins or any of the Collins family of drinks (hence the name) but will also hold the majority of our long cocktails, so named due to the long glass, and also spirit-and-mixer style combinations such as your gin ‘n’ tonics, rum and cokes or whatever your particular drink of choice happens to be.

    Example: Tom Collins, Mojito, Cuba Libra

    .

    Old Fashioned/Rocks

    Buy Rocks Glasses
    Another glass named after a drink (in the case the amazing Old Fashioned, a definite bartender favourite).

    Shorter and wider than a highball or Collins, the shape allows the aroma of the drink to display more than it would in something more narrow.

    An Old Fashioned glass is commonly used to serve short drinks ‘on the rocks’, which means alcohol with ice (and gives us the other common name for the glass – Rocks), or neat, where the alcohol is served in the glass without ice, often seen in the case of spirits  likewhiskey.

    A standard Old Fashioned glass holds between 180-300ml (6-10oz) but it’s also easy to find glasses that are bigger, often between 300-400ml in which case they could actually hold the same amount of liquid as a Collins or Highball glass.

    Example: Old Fashioned, Bramble, Whiskey Sour

    .

    Shot Glass

    Buy Shot Glasses
    A shot glass is a small glass, usually holding somewhere between 25ml-100ml, that is most commonly used for a single or double measure of alcohol, or shot, often intended to be consumed in one go (like the Tequila/Lime/Salt deal commonly served as a bit of liquid energy in bars around the world.

    Example: B52, Tequila Slammer

    .

    Cocktail (Martini)

    Buy Cocktail/Martini Glasses
    Commonly, and incorrectly (if we are to be technical about it) referred to as a Martini glass after the famous cocktail that is commonly served in it.

    The cocktail glass, with its thin stem and delicate bowl, is a great mix of form and function. The stem gives us the ability to hold the glass without transferring our body heat and inadvertently warming the chilled drink inside; the bowl shape allows us to take in the aromatic scents of the spirit, liqueurs and garnishes as we raise it to our mouth.

    Early cocktails glasses held around 100ml (3 or 4oz) as drinks served in cocktail glasses are usually served without ice – this small size allowed you to finish your drink while it was still cold. Modern cocktail glasses tend to be larger at around 200ml and most of our recipes reflect this larger sizing – you can use smaller glasses if you have them, but if you follow modern recipes then expect some leftovers.

    Example: Dry Martini, Manhattan, Cosmopolitan

    .

    Brandy Balloon/snifter

    Buy Brandy Glasses
    The Brandy Balloon, or snifter, is used to serve neat spirits such as brandy or whiskey, and usually holds somewhere between 180-300ml of liquid. We tend not to fill the glass and only put a small amount of liquor in, usually a single or double measure (so around 25-75ml).

    The shape, wide at the bottom and more narrow at the top, gives the liquid a larger surface area which allows it to evaporate slightly faster, while the narrow part at the top of the glass works to catch the aroma it gives off. The glass has a stem but this tends to be used for the opposite reason we have a stem in cocktail or wine glasses – with a balloon we actually hold the bottom of the glass, using the heat of our hands to warm the liquor inside the glass which is thought to improve the flavours in some spirits.

    Example: Stinger

    .

    Sparkling Wine/Champagne Flute

    .
    Buy Champagne Flute Glasses
    The sparkling wine glass, or Champagne flute as it tends to be known (remembering that Champagne is a particular type of sparkling wine from France) is used for sparkling wine, sparkling wine cocktails or other drinks that we want to remain nice and fizzy.

    The tall, narrow shape of the glass reduces the surface area of the wine and helps it keep its carbonation (the ‘fizzyness’ if you will), and the stem allows the wine to remain nice and cold. A standard flute tends to hold around about 180ml (6oz).

    Example: Bellini, French 75, Classic Champagne Cocktail

    .

    Wine Glass

    Buy Wine Glasses
    One that you’re likely to have at home already, we also use standard wine glasses for cocktails. As with the cocktail glass and Champagne flute, the stem on the wine glass stops our heat of our hand warming the liquid. Standard wine glasses hold anywhere from around 175-250ml.

    Example: Cobbler, Spritzer

    That’s it for glassware basics. Let me know if you have any questions or queries and once you’re ready be sure to check out Mixing Cocktails 101 – the guide that explains the methods and reasons behind cocktail mixing methods including shaking, building, stirring and layering.

    //David

  • The Week One Roundup

    The Week One Roundup

     

    The Ice Ship

    Week 1 at Make Cocktails at Home

    .

    It’s now the end of the first week of the blog and I’ve got to say I’m pretty happy with how things are going so far.

    ..

    A quick review of what we’ve covered this week:

    .

    Training – Fundamentals

    Essential Home Bar Equipment

    Essential ingredients for your home cocktail bar

    Easy Guide to Alcohol pt 1: Fermentation, Distillation and Spirits

     

    Cocktail Recipes

    Vodka – Moscow Mule

    Whiskey – Sweet Manhattan

    .

    Coming up

    .

    There’s plenty more to come over the next few weeks, including pt 2 of the Easy  Guide to Alcohol, this time focusing on liqueurs. There will be guides to deconstructing the cocktail, and lessons on taste and balance.

    .

    Also, the first of the video series should be up soon. These videos will cover the more practical sides to making cocktails with the ingredients and tools you have at home, so look for guides to mixing methods (including shaking and stirring), making syrups and liqueurs, and a few more that I’m keeping to myself for now!

    .

    As always, if you have any questions, comments or suggestions then let me know, and make sure to join the newsletter or like me on Facebook to get news of the updates as they’re posted.

    .

    Happy mixing,

    .

    / David