Collegian cocktails
January 26, 2007
Imagine a world in which beer pong and flippy cup no longer exist, and instead have been replaced by luncheons and board meetings.
As scary as this sounds, FYI believes that students should be prepared. So with the help of local bartenders and students, we compiled a helpful list of six essential drinks that everyone should know how to make before they accept a diploma. Whether it be to impress a girl, the boss or the family, there is a perfect drink for every situation.
But what goes into making a great drink?
“You have to know what you like, and you have to be able to adjust it for someone else . it’s a very personal thing,” said Katie Bailey, Ames resident and bartender at Cafe Beaudelaire.
1. Martini
Ingredients: Gin, dry vermouth, an olive
Serving glass: Martini glass
The infamous martini. While there are dozens of variations, FYI felt the gin martini is the best example of this classic cocktail. The drink is complete with gin, extra-dry vermouth and an olive.
Although it sounds simple, the making of a martini is a craft that many attempt and few perfect because of the amount of attention required. The details range from the way the glass is chilled to the personal variance in ratio of gin to vermouth.
“I think if you can pull off a good martini, you can pull off anything,” said Bailey.
ISU student recipe – Martini
Submitted by: Matthew Renze, senior in philosophy
1. Chill a cocktail (martini) glass with ice and a little water. Let this sit.
2. Pour two ounces of Bombay Sapphire Gin into a standard shaker filled with ice. Shake well.
3. Pour then shake out all remaining ice and water from the cocktail glass.
4. Pour a dash of Martini and Rossi Extra Dry Vermouth into the cocktail glass.
5. Swirl the extra dry vermouth around in the cocktail glass so it adheres to the inside of the glass.
6. Shake out the excess extra dry vermouth. You only want as much as is willing to stay in the glass after one shake. If you are a real perfectionist, get a small atomizer bottle for the extra dry vermouth.
7. Strain the Bombay Sapphire into the cocktail glass.
8. Garnish with one olive. Never pour in olive juice.
9. Drink slowly in a comfortable surrounding with moderate to low volume of quality music.
10. Never drink more then 3 per evening, even if you have a designated driver.
2. Mojito
Ingredients: Brown sugar, mint, rum, soda, a lime
Serving Glass: Highball
For those looking to latch onto a trend newer than the traditional Bloody Mary or Manhattan, the Mojito is an excellent choice, considering it has been around since the 1930s.
The drink is made through a technique called muddling, which is a way of mixing brown sugar, whole mint leaves and a peeled lime. Rum and soda is then poured into a shaker and then strained into a highball glass, completing the sufficiently sweet and crisp taste of the cocktail.
Whether impressing your girlfriend’s parents or kicking back for a night with your friends, the Mojito is a great start for anyone.
3. Mai Tai
Ingredients: Rum, dark rum, apricot brandy, orange juice, pineapple, grenadine, ice.
Serving glass: Collins
The early 1940s found America in a World War, but that period also brought the Mai Tai. Victor Bergeron put the spotlight on a drink that he named the Mai Tai, and that spotlight has still not been ceased of its shining light.
According to Cocktail Times, the original recipe included such ingredients as curacao, orgeat syrup, rock candy syrup, fresh lime juice and a 17-year-old J. Wray Nephew Jamaican Rum. Though the average student’s availability of a 17-year-old rum may be in question, this drink is an excellent choice for a hot summer day with the family.
4. Long Island Iced Tea
Ingredients: Vodka, rum, gin, triple sec, tequila, sour and coke
Serving glass: Carafe
The Long Island Iced Tea has made a name for itself over the years, and continues to hold strong with both the older and younger crowds.
Aside from the dash of sour and coke, the Long Island is laden with several different types of alcohol and therefore is not a drink for the faint of heart – or empty of stomach.
The Long Island can be savored for a long time and leave a remainder of its sweet liqueurs on your senses for an equally long buzz. Ultimately, it is a perfect drink to help loosen up for that dinner with the boss, giving you ample opportunity to make a memorable impression.
5. Margarita
Ingredients: Sweet and sour, tequila, triple sec
Serving glass: Salt-rimmed glass
A necessity of any Mexican restaurant, the Margarita lends itself to the life of the party and anyone with a palate enjoying both sweet and sour.
Though not as heavy on the alcohol as the Long Island, the Margarita still has the ability to leave you slurring your words and dancing on tables, which is never a good impression to leave on any boss, or date. For a typical margarita, it is easiest to find a mix and add some tequila, but be cautious of doing so with any exotics such as strawberry margaritas.
Go the extra mile and get fresh strawberries for your mix, and do yourself a favor and go buy a nice shaker and strainer. You can’t live on blended drinks forever.
6. Bloody Mary
Ingredients: Vodka, tomato juice, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce, a celery stick and a lemon wedge for garnish
Serving glass: Any
There are many professed histories and myths of just how this timeless drink earned the name “Bloody Mary,” but the drink was really created by a man named Fernand Petiot in the 1920s while working in a Paris bar named “Harry’s New York Bar.”
Although created in Paris, the drink did not earn fame back in the states until Petiot became a bartender in New York’s St. Regis Hotel and added his spicy drink to the list of cocktails for big-spending customers. Though the typical list of ingredients seems daunting at first glance, the drink can be simplified and made with the use of Zing Zang mix and Absolute Peppar vodka.
For details on serving glass types visit Drinknation.com/cocktail_glasses.php.
Bartending Web sites:
