Two of my favorite cocktails are, in most bars, made with pre-made mixers. These tepid liquids tend to range from tolerable to noxious in flavor. Generally concocted from small bits of fruit juice unhappily married to artificial flavors and corn syrup, they are not meant to make a great drink. They are meant to lend the shade of the flavor of a great drink to a product that can be mixed and served in seconds.

Believe me, if I were slinging 250 drinks per hour, I wouldn’t want to be futzing with all of this fruit and different spirits and additions ad infinitum either. I’d take the easy route, too.

At home, you don’t have to- and that’s a beautiful thing. Your whiskey sour can gleam! Your margarita can sparkle and delight. Deep flavors, clean finishes, twinkling presentations, all yours. The glass could be your oyster if you’d only take it and shout, “I am the master of my own tipple domain!”

Cheap things like halfway decent turbinado sugar, sea salt, middle-shelf liquor and fresh fruit (organic or not) are worlds beyond what you’ll ever find in a storebought mix, and better, by and large, than what you’ll encounter even at fancy places that stress fresh ingredients.

This purist way, of course, is how the cocktails in question were intended to be made- the pre-made mixers were an afterthought. According to the illustrious they, these drinks are supposed to be far simpler than you’d imagine when you’re staring down the list of 30 ingredients on that bottle of storebought Sweet-And-Sour! (no carageenan gum here, I swear)

Let’s get back to basics and make something worth drinking!

Whiskey Sour:
Add 2 shots whiskey (I like Maker’s Mark for this), the juice of one nice lemon, and a heaping teaspoon of good sugar to your cocktail shaker. Add a large handful of ice, cap, and shake briskly. Strain into a glass. Add a maraschino cherry, if you’re that kind.

Margarita:
Crush a couple of teaspoons of flake sea salt a bit between your fingers, or lightly grind in your mortar and pestle. Fold a paper towel in half and sprinkle the salt in a wide circle, roughly the circumferance of your chosen glass, on the towel. You’re creating a soft, salt-covered surface. What could that possibly be used for?

Pour 1.5 shots decent tequila, half a shot of orange liquer (Cointreau is thought to be best for this- lately I have been loving Patron Citronge), the juice of one lime, and a level teaspoon of good sugar into your cocktail shaker. Add a large handful of ice, cap, and shake briskly.

Wet the edge of your glass with a lime wedge, invert it and blot it on the paper towel to coat the rim, then carefully strain your drink into the glass, taking care not to wash off the salt. Float a thin slice of lime on top for kicks.. Slick.

Now, I’m still taking baby steps with this stuff- I’m no cocktail chef, by any means. It’s just like most everything else I’ve explored in cooking, though- throw some thought, some good ingredients, and your own tastes at a challenge like making a great cocktail, and you’ll soon find it difficult to pay $7 for some anemic, watery libation thenceforth. I’m not sure if it’s a blessing or a curse.

In the meantime, excuse me, I’ve got a heaaavenly margarita to finish

Special thanks to the head Fashionista and insane breakthrough live techno/breaks act (*cough*BSP*cough*) The Fingermonsters for your selfless service betatesting this, er, powerful sour recipe the other night. Your sacrifices will not go unappreciated. More cocktails next week?

Just a short one this time,
-GC

Filed under: Recipes, Cocktail Hour

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