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The Cosmopolitan
2 Ounces of Ketel One Citroen
1/2 Ounce of Cointreau
1/2 Ounce of Fresh Lime Juice
Splash (1/4 to 1/2 Ounce) Cranberry Juice
Garnish with a Lime Wheel
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A Memory
My first bartending gig back in the US came after I'd started working full time for Children's Hospital in Boston fixing pharmaceutical equipment. The bar was next door to the hospital. I carried a pager for my medical job, and I was lucky to have managers who were very understanding whenever my pager went off and I had to run next door and use my lunch break to fix a machine.
So one night, I'm mixing this lady a Cosmopolitan, and my beeper goes off. I finish pouring the drink, call my boss over to the bar, explain the situation to my customer, and head to the hospital to fix the issue.
Shortly after I leave, her cell phone rings. It's her daughter's nurse.
"I'm so sorry," the nurse says to my customer as she sips her drink, "your daughter hasn't gotten her pain meds yet. But don't worry-- the guy who fixes the Pyxis Machine is here, he's working on it right now."
"Yeah, I know." My customer replies sardonically. "The Bartender's fixing it."
The Cosmopolitan, by the way, was delicious.
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Many bartenders overlook the importance of balance in crafting an effective cocktail. While drinking on the easy side of the bar, I've noticed that we're all too used to emphasizing two ingredients at the expense of all the others: the biting nip of the alcohol and the sweet kiss of sugar. The former feeds our need to ensure we haven't been cheated on our spirits; the latter mitigates the intolerable taste of the former where necessary for the faint of tongue. A great example of this shortfall would be those terrible chocolate martinis that overpower with their base spirit and make up for it with an overwhelming douse of creme de cacao. Establishments' names will be changed to protect the innocent.
Let's not forget that the whole point of mixology is to craft a cocktail that trades a one-two punch in the taste buds for a smooth massage of flavor that brings them all out to play. Instead of just sticking with the two hometown favorite tastes, a finely crafted drink should touch at least three of the major tastes associated with the cocktail: Spirit, Sweet, Sour, Citrus, and Bitters. If the tongue is a drum, the talented mixologist should aim to keep time with several regions in tandem to lay down a cool baseline.
Ultimately, the ideal in mixing a quality drink is to get the customer's first sip to start out almost neutral on the tongue. This starting point should then follow up with a wave of flavor. Just like a fine wine, cheese, or whiskey doesn't have a single note but operates on several, a good cocktail should start simple and move to the complex.
The Cosmo is a great example of a cocktail that is often overdone. Too many bartenders think they're doing their customers a favor by throwing in too much vodka or triple sec. Worse, many overdo the Cranberry Juice. While the garden variety Ocean Spray has a nice sweet kick of corn syrup (which, incidentally, inhibits the flow of leptin to the brain, shutting off your customer's sense of whether or not she's full; congratulations, there goes the diet), its combination sweet and bitter-dry taste should be used in moderation, not in excess. Many of my customers ask for their Cosmopolitans "baby-pink" which means I breathe Cranberry Juice into my Boston Glass with care rather than slathering it willy-nilly into my cocktail.
One of my mentors often tells me to mix my drinks "with love." While this may sound sappy to some would-be bartenders, the principle of adding care into your recipes is one I'd consider of paramount importance. It's the same care I provided to to the patient's mother in my cocktail yarn. On both sides of the bar, I managed to provide her with impeccable care and service. It's a goal I aspire to every day in my career, and one I consider well worth the effort.
Happy Mixing!
Jake
