You can be proud of your bourbon cocktail or you can be disappointed at the results.
The drink is usually not as good as it could be and the bartender is always working too hard to make it work.
But a new book on making the best bourbons at home has given some tips on how to get the best possible drink from the ingredients you have.
And if you can’t decide on the ingredients, you can always make your own, writes David L. Gans of the L.A. Times.
Here are the basic tips you can expect to learn from the book, “How to Make the Best Bourbon Cocktails at Home: Tips from the Experts.”1.
Make your own bourbon cocktail mix.
“For the best cocktail, you want to make your drink as authentic as possible, to the taste and smell of the bourbon,” Gans writes.
“You can’t get a bourbon mix in the store, and the bourbon that comes out of the bottle is usually made with sugar, which makes it too sweet.
It also can have a different flavor profile than the one you’d find in a store.”2.
Decide which ingredients are most important for the bourbon drink.
“The most important thing is the bourbon, and that’s where the sugar comes in,” Gons writes.
But, “some bartenders also like to make their own bourbon and try different flavors in it, as well as a variety of different bourbons.”3.
Decorate your cocktail to reflect the spirit of your cocktail.
“Decorating your cocktail is one of the most important steps in making a good bourbon cocktail,” he writes.
“It’s a good idea to take a few minutes to think about what you want the drink to be like, and what you would like to do with the ingredients.
A good bourbon can be pretty simple, and if you just do it on your own and do it in the kitchen, it will not be as good.”4.
Mix up the ingredients carefully.
“When making cocktails, it’s important to make sure you mix up the different ingredients,” he explains.
“There’s a lot of flavor in the ingredients and the ingredients are usually very different.
You want to avoid too much of each flavor and make sure the bourbon flavor is in every drink.”5.
Make sure you have enough space for the ingredients to soak up.
“If you have a lot, it can cause the ingredients that are mixed together to sit on top of each other,” Gers writes.
To keep the ingredients from soaking up each other, Gans recommends mixing the ingredients in a container that is wide enough to accommodate them all.6.
Get creative with the bourbon.
“You can make any kind of bourbon cocktail, whether you’re a bourbon fan or not, and there’s no reason why you can only make one kind of drink,” Gann writes.
There are plenty of different styles of bourbons, which are made by blending different bourkeys together and blending them with other types of whiskey.
“One of the great things about this book is the diversity of the ingredients,” Gancs writes.
For example, the author suggests making a cocktail with ginger ale, peach liqueurs, orange liqueures and vanilla liqueuras.
“Try making the cocktail with all kinds of different flavors,” he advises.
“The recipes are pretty creative.”7.
Try using different spices to complement the bourbon’s flavor.
“I’ve found that spices can add just as much flavor as just plain bourbon,” he says.
“Try a little pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom or even a little lemon juice.”8.
Check the label for all of the alcohol in the drink.
If the drink contains alcohol, Ganc said it should be mixed in a glass.
“In my experience, if the drink has too much alcohol, it’ll be difficult to finish the drink,” he notes.
“But if the cocktail has too little alcohol, you’ll have a good experience and it’ll make for a good cocktail.
If you’re making a new cocktail or a cocktail that has been sitting in the fridge for a while, you may want to add a little water, a little vanilla, a dash of cinnamon or even some other ingredients to help balance out the flavor.
But don’t overdo it.
You don’t want to overpower the bourbon or overwhelm the flavors.”