🙋♀️ : There are so many kinds of cocktails, so I don't know what to choose. :( 👩🏫 : Then, why don't you try a cocktail that is good for the season?
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On a scorching summer day, I love gulping down beer, but other drinks are also great for summer. That is a cocktail! You can have one at a classic cocktail bar or make it at home to enjoy comfortably. (Wanna know how to make 3 easy cocktails with simple ingredients at home? →Read this)
So in this post, I'm going to talk about cocktails that are not only good for hot summer but cocktails that are always delightful to drink all year round.
The Origin of Cocktail
Everyone probably knows what a cocktail is. The word cocktail first appeared in a newspaper(The Balance and Columbian Repository) published in Hudson, New York, on May 13, 1806, saying, "Cocktail is a stimulating liquor, composed of spirits of any kind, sugar, water, and bitters." And the date, May 13, is also known as World Cocktail Day.
But in fact, there's not much information about the origin of the cocktail, but there's a lot of stories behind it. One of the most famous stories is that it got the name because a colonial drink garnish looks like a rooster's tail or cock tail. There is also a story that the vividly mixed cocktail with various colors resembles a rooster's tail.
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The first cocktail guide was "The Bartenders Guide: How To Mix Drinks," published in 1862 by Jerry Thomas, a bartender often called the father of American Mixology. You can still purchase this book in reprint from Amazon.
Oh! Non-alcoholic cocktails are called "mocktails" or "virgin cocktails."
Home Bar Tools
Since there are cocktail kits and recipes that are easy to make, more people are enjoying cocktails at home.
When making cocktails at home, some tools will be good in handy. Of course, you can use any cups, spoons, measuring cups, etc. you have, but if you have cocktails often, it would be helpful if you buy at least one.
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Jigger: A measuring cup you can measure on both ends. Jiggers come in many shapes, sizes and volumes.
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Shaker: A tumbler to mix cocktail ingredients. Metal shakes are preferable.
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Muddler: A tool for mashing fruits or herbs to extract the juice.
Don’t smash it too much but do until release some of the juice.
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Strainer: It holds broken ice and fruit or other pulp in the shaker while pouring drinks.
It comes in different shapes and many sizes of holes.
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Bar Spoon: A bar spoon can reach the bottom of tall sakers or jugs.
It’s also handy for getting garnish from the bottom of the glass.
Types of Cocktail Glasses
Cocktail glasses are as diverse as cocktails. Traditional cocktail bars usually serve proper glasses for drinks, but recently, many unconventional cocktails have been made and served in various cups, such as beer glasses and mugs. There's no rule what types of glasses you must uses cup, so don't buy fancy glasses. Just use the similar-shaped cup you have at home.
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🍸 Martini Glass / Cocktail Glass
A martini glass, which you might be familiar with, is a stemmed and tapered glass with a conical shape and a wide rim. Both look very similar, but the primary difference is incapacity. A cocktail glass holds between 6 and 12 ounces, and a martini glass has a capacity of 3 to 10 ounces.
Drinks commonly served in cocktail glasses: Double Martini, Cosmopolitan, Daiquiri
Drinks commonly served in martini glasses: Martini, Dirty Martini, Gimlet, Manhattan
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🥛 Highball Glass / Collins Glass
These tall glasses are great for gin-and-tonics, vodka-sodas, and they are often used interchangeably. The only difference between the glasses is that the collins glass is taller, narrower, and has a slightly larger capacity compared to the highball glass. A collins glass holds between 10 and 14 ounces, and a highball glass holds between 8 and 12 ounces.
Drinks commonly served in a highball glass: Long Island Iced Tea
Drinks commonly served in a collins glass: Tom Collins, Paloma, Mojito
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🥃 Rocks Glass
A rocks glass is commonly used for whiskey on the rock, but it is also used to serve many cocktails. You may hear the rocks glass called old-fashioned glass.
Drinks commonly served in a rocks glass: Old Fashioned, Negroni, White Russian, Whiskey sour
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🍹 Margarita Glass
Margarita glasses are stemmed and feature a curvy double-tiered shape. Margarita glasses hold between 6 and 20 ounces, and they have a thick rim for dipping in salt.
Drinks commonly served in a margarita glass: Margaritas, Frozen Margaritas
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🍹 Coupe
A coupe is a stemmed cocktail glass with a shallow but wide rounded bowl. It holds between 5 and 7 ounces of liquid. Coupe glasses are good for cocktails shaken or stirred with ice and then served chilled, without ice.
Drinks commonly served in a coupe: Daiquiri, Cosmopolitan
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🥂 Flute
A stemmed glass with a tall, thin, slightly tapered is the most common glass for serving Champagne. Iy holds about 6 to 7 ounces.
Drinks served in flute: French 75, Bellini, Mimosa, Champagne Cocktails
Seasonal Cocktails
Have you ever wondered what to order looking at a long list of cocktail menus at a cocktail bar where you visited to have a good time in a long time? So I have sorted some of the standard cocktails by season.
Of course, if you add seasonal ingredients such as fruits in the same cocktails, you can enjoy diverse flavors for each season. But this is generally classified by popularities for the season.
🌸Spring: Fresh cocktails with mint or lemon are popular.
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1. Mint Julep
The official drink of May's the Kentucky Derby, a horse race held annually in Churchill Downs, Louisville, Kentucky.
Ingredients: Bourbon, Mint, Sugar, Water
2. Tom Collins
A delicious classic cocktail that is easy to make at home.
Ingredients: Gin, Lemon Juice, Club Soda, Sugar
3. Cosmopolitan
It became popular in the 90s thanks to the hit TV show Sex and the City.
Ingredients: Vodka, Triple Sec(or Cointreau), Lime Juice, Cranberry Juice
🌴Summer: More colorful and fruit-based cocktails based with gin, rum, vodka, tequila are more popular than whiskey-based.
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1. Aperol Spritz
This wildly popular orange aperitivo cocktail with bubbly, subtly bitter, and lightly sweet flavor is a classic summer drink.
Ingredients: Aperol, Prosecco, Club Soda
2. Daiquiri
The daiquiri is one of the easiest and perfect summer cold drinks. You can have it frozen.
Ingredients: Light Rum, Lime Juice, Sugar
3. Gimlet
It is a drink with an unmistakable flavor. This lime-flavored drink is ideal during those warm summer evenings.
Ingredients: Gin, Lime Juice, Simple Syrup
4. Mai Tai
Mai Tai is a Polynesian-style cocktail that has a sweet fruity tropical taste.
Ingredients: Light and Dark Rum, Triple Sec(or Cointreau), Orange or Pineapple Juice, Lime Juice, Almond Syrup
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5. Margarita
It's absolutely the best summer cocktail with a refreshing lime flavor! You can adapt various fruity versions from the traditional lime, such as peach, strawberry, and raspberry.
Ingredients: Tequila, Triple Sec, Lime Juice, Salt for the Rim
6. Moscow Mule
Moscow Mule is one of the most refreshing things to sip on a hot summer day. It is suggested to serve in a copper mug.
Ingredients: Vodka, Ginger Beer (or Ginger Ale), Lime Juice
7. Paloma
This Mexican cocktail with sweet-tart grapefruit is the perfect summery vibe.
Ingredients: Tequila, Grapefruit Juice, Lime Juice, Club Soda
Summer is definitely the season of cocktails. There are so many other cocktails besides what I've mentioned above. Mojito(Light Rum, Mint, Lime Juice, Sugar, Club Soda), Pina Colada(Rum, Coconut Milk, Pineapple Juice, Ice), Long Island Iced Tea(Rum, Tequila, Vodka, Gin, Triple Sec, Cola, Lemon Juice) are also popular summer cocktails.🌊🌴
🍂Fall: As the weather cools down, people are looking for a lot of whiskey-based cocktails with rich flavors.
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1. Dirty Martini
It is a salty and murky cocktail adding a splash of olive brine to the classic Martini. It has different beauty from the neatness of the classic Martini.
Ingredients: Gin or Vodka, Dry Vermouth, Olive
2. Old Fashioned
It is a classic cocktail that is popular for over 200 years ago since the 19th century. It's a whiskey base and also known as a cocktail with a strong masculine perception.
Ingredients: Bourbon Whiskey, Sugar, Bitters, Water, Orange Garnish
3. Manhattan
It is one of the booziest classic drinks since the mid-1800s. Garnish with a brandied cherry if you're a traditionalist or a lemon twist for a more modern touch.
Ingredients: Rye or Bourbon, Sweet vermouth, Bitters
4. Whiskey Sour
The most refreshing whiskey cocktail. The rich aromatics with whiskey and lemon make you feel the winter already.
Ingredients: Bourbon, Lemon Juice, Sugar
⛄Winter: People are looking for smooth, sweet, and warm cocktails.
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1. French 75
Created during World War I, the name of this drink was from the fact that taking a sip of it feels like getting shelled with a French 75mm field gun.
Ingredients: Gin, Champagne, Lemon Juice, Sugar
2. Negroni
A favorite of bartenders all over the world. This cocktail with punchy, bittersweet is the ideal dinnertime aperitivo.
Ingredients: Gin, Campari, Sweet Vermouth
3. White Russian
A Black Russian variation with milk or cream. The taste is soft as comforting as a cozy winter blanket.
Ingredients: Vodka, Kahlúa, Heavy Cream
4. Irish Coffee
A warm cocktail with hot coffee and a float of gently whipped cream on the top. You can dash cinnamon or cocoa powder as your preferable. Or you can add ice and drink it cold. Do not mix cream when you drink it.
Ingredients: Irish Whiskey, Coffee, Brown Sugar, Whipped Cream
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