THE MOST BASIC AND POPULAR DRINKS YOU SHOULD KNOW AS A BARTENDER
Working as a bartender is an enjoyable job, and Mixology is an art in itself. Every cocktail should be a masterpiece made to perfection. Each bar or club has different options, and as a bartender, you have to prepare different drinks depending on the event or venue. Many bars only want the bartender to know how to make a few cocktails and have basic knowledge about wines and beers while cocktail bars may have much more complex cocktails for their bartender to prepare. Also, style varies from venue to venue; from bar to bar and from pub to pub. And as a bartender what each venue will require from you regarding the cocktails you will have to prepare will differ.
Therefore, before you take on a bartending job, you must familiarize yourself with the most basic and popular drinks that people order for. You do not want to be found wanting in this department or be clueless about things pertaining to drinks. Of course, you will learn most of these things at a bartending school but getting a brief idea about them here isn’t such a bad idea. So, the most important cocktails and drinks every bartender should know are discussed below.
- Sex on the Beach
Virtually everybody loves this one because of the name. It is quite a popular cocktail at summer clubs and high-end locations. You cannot visit Ibiza without having “Sex on the beach” literally. It is a sweet cocktail, and it is a blend of three different mixers – cranberry juice, orange juice, and peach schnapps, with vodka. For people who do not enjoy taking string alcoholic drinks but want to feel the effects of alcohol, this is the easiest and equally delicious drink to make.
- Martini
This is perhaps the most popular high-end cocktail. As simple as it is, the cocktail is iconic with a quite interesting history. A martini is essentially a mixture of vermouth and gin, but of course, there are variations. We have the dry martini which is made from dry white vermouth, there is dirty martini made with an addition of olive brine which you can garnish with olive as well, there is perfect martini made from equal quantities of dry and sweet vermouth; and there is the wet martini made from more dry vermouth (than the amount used in dry martini) which does not say anything about its name. There are also other variants which are martini with chocolate, espresso, and Kahlua although these are just the minor variants compared to the major types of martini that you should know.
- Piña Colada
This is a classic cocktail which originated from Puerto Rica and is extremely sweet. In some places, it is considered a luxury cocktail and considered feminine by some people. It is delicious and can be enjoyed by anybody willing to put some sweet stuff on their taste buds. It is made by mixing rum, sweet coconut cream, pineapple juice and shaken with ice. You can garnish it with a pineapple wedge to give it an extra sweet flavor.
- Mojito
This is a traditional Cuban highball which is the favorite of every party animal and one that every serious bartender should know how to make. Typically, it is made from five ingredients which are lime juice, white rum, soda water, mint, and sugar. You can either use spearmint or Yerba Buena if you really want to give it that Cuban flavor. It is a top choice at summer parties because of its refreshing and thirst-quenching qualities.
- Long Island Iced Tea
This is a very famous cocktail that virtually every pub or bar regular is familiar with. It is a cocktail that has been around since the 20s and quite surprisingly, it is still popular around the world today. Ironically, despite its name, it does not contain any tea at all. It is a blend of five different white distilled spirits which include gin, rum, tequila, triple sec and vodka. These are then mixed with sour mix and cola and then garnished with a lemon wedge. It is a really simple-to-make cocktail, and well, the taste is obviously complex.
- Old Fashioned
This is one of the oldest cocktails you will find in the United States of America and is mostly served at luxury events. Like the martini, it also has a long history, and according to different sources, it came to exist in 1806 and became very common around the 1860s. The cocktail is made by bringing sugar together with bitters, mixing it with brandy or whiskey, and adding some citrus rind to the blend.
- Negroni
This cocktail takes you right to Italy, and it can serve as an excellent appetizer. With its Origin in the city of Florence about a hundred years ago. It is made from vermouth Rosso, gin, Campari and you can garnish it.
- Black Russian
Cocktails have a way of having a name that does not in any way correspond with their origin. Imagine a Black Russian cocktail not coming from Russia. Its origin is in Brussels, but Russian vodka is used in making it. You will find this cocktail incredibly easy to make, and it also happens to be one of the most popular in the world. Get two parts of vodka and one part of Kahlua, mix them and you have on your hands a Russian cocktail. It is a very strong cocktail; thus, if you are looking to party hard, this is the cocktail that will get you in the perfect mood.
CONCLUSION
As a bartender, these cocktails are known all over the world, and you must know them too. Every professional bartender knows how to make these cocktails, and you should not be left out. While you are looking for your next bartending job or learning how to be a bartender, take note of these things because a great bar is incomplete without the best cocktails.