Hearing some very valid criticism and discussion here - going to be posting a video this weekend with some revised/corrected techniques! Not just because I want more drinks.
I don’t know if I’m looking at it right but has the intro had a weird cut where the music starts and then stops from episode 1-9? I always thought it was a mistake but I’m not sure.
I'd like to send you a really good bottle of rhum, because Bacardi ? I mean, that's just burning alcohol ! Where can I send it to ? :D I'm from Martinique, and island known for it's exceptional rhum.
Thats how i make them in those big ass cups. I have the same cups he has and it really needs at least 1.5 shots usually 2 full shots of vodka to actually taste right. If your using a smaller cup than forsure less vodka lol
I must say, cocktails are easier in Norway. *Moonshine (home made) 192 proof* *Hot, slightly weaker coffee* Mixing ratio comes down to personal preference and the coffee is optional
Not sure if anyone's mentioned this yet, but with a Mojito, you don't want to shred it, that brings out the chlorophyll and makes it taste bitter. I think the best way to get the mintyness without the crappyness is to slap the mint around a bit before you put it in, but after you've muddles your lime and sugar. Also, an old way to make an extra dry martini is to put some ice cubes in your tin, add dry vermouth, gently swirl it around and then dump out the excess vermouth, then add your gin and gently stir so the ice chills the drink, but doesn't chip and dilute it. Probably very late to the party, but oh well!
I learned to make Mojito a nother way. Just put dust sugar first to the glass, then the lime juice, some soda, Mix it with a barspoon. After this, put 10 - 12 leafes of mint to the Mix and gently push the leafes with the muddler 2 Times, no more. Finishing it with crushed ice, bacardi, soda filling, and a bit of mixing with the barspoon again. For garnish, ofc some mint, and there you have it. Personally i like Mojito without the Bitter of the mint. I learned it that way, but im happy to see all other versions of this simple but delicious cocktail.
I think technically the bitterness comes from damaging the plant's cell walls, which in turn releases polyphenols that then rapidly oxidize and give off a bitter astringent flavor almost like over-steeped tea. Chlorophyll is just the green stuff in chloroplasts that helps plants absorb energy from certain wavelengths of light.
Don't do this for martinis.... if you really like your martinis this dry just drink your gin neat because that's essentially all your doing. You waste vermouth for no benefit.
Texas way: 1oz teq 1oz trip sec 1oz rum 1oz gin 1oz vodka poured ice in tall glass, almost fill with sweet and sour and top with 2oz coke. Insert straw, enjoy. Edit: I meant half ounce pours, but that recipe would be a quick night!
As an experienced cocktail maker, I recommend a julep strainer as opposed to the Hawthorne you had. Sometimes, when straining things other than ice, the Hawthorne is harder to clean.
Old guy I used to work with (now I am the old guy) would instruct me (with a Marlboro dangling from his mouth) that Manhattans and Martins are like women's breasts... 3 is to many and 1 is not enough.
A Dry Martini never has vodka in it, if it's not made with gin it's not a Martini of any kind, period. Vodka + dry vermouth is called a Kangaroo or Kangaroo Kicker. Also the term dry in Dry Martini has to do with the usage of dry vermouth as opposed to the original sweet vermouth, it has nothing to do with the ratios. Furthermore you need to put orange bitters in the cocktail for it to be a Dry Martini because just gin and dry vermouth makes a Gibson. Most people these days think that the garnish with a cocktail onion is what makes a Gibson but it is the omission of bitters, as specified in one of the earliest written recipes of the Gibson from 1906. That recipe even mentions an olive as a garnish option yet does not mention onions.
The term Dry Martini is debated to mean many different things, using Dry Vermouth, using Dry Gin (as apposed to older more aromatic gin), the ratio, etc. I do agree on the points about Vodka in a "martini."
@@stevendhall81 This. Mess something up? I'm not pouring it out. I drink it and reflect on what I did wrong. I'd rather drink something horribly mixed than waste it.
@@jiiibbeen I feel like most people nowadays just assume a standard martini is a vodka martini. But yeah, the classic martini uses gin. Too many people just can't take the juniper, am I right? lol
you have the most SOOTHING voice my dude. like i have really shitty anxiety so it's hard for me to sleep a lot (The Fear is Everywhere) but I've been putting on your videos for the really rough nights and it kinda helps lull me into a better mindset. u a real one and should do audiobooks
"The cocktail you have to like if you have tattoos or facel hair." I have both, i don't really like burbon, the old fashioned is my favorite drink. Babish is always right.
Babish, I love you. BUT when making a Mojito use squeezed lime juice and simple syrup and lightly press the mint... muddling sugar cubes like that will bruise the mint and bring out bitterness. I find just lightly pressing the mint in the lime and sugar with the flat back end of a bar spoon works real nice. Also the Noilly Pratt you used in your martini is dry, not sweet. But like I said I love you bro ❤️
Oh, and using crushed ice for your Mojito makes for better presentation and keeps the little mint leaves in their place and not up your straw! And try mixing your negroni/old fashioned in a mixing glass and straining over fresh ice in your serving glass, big cubes are great for keeping cold but not best for dilution, which is what you’re trying to achieve with stirring in the first place. Demerara simple Syrup works nicer in an old fashioned too!
I love Babish too, and his food videos have helped me make some amazingly tasty stuff. That being said... from the perspective of a professional bartender, there are a lot of technical issues I have with this episode.
Matt smith glad somebody pointed it out. People confuse the Mojito with the Caipirinha. At times they do not realize these are different drinks. So the recipies got a little mixed up to. I am not a pro but I am master of the Mojito and I trust the IBA recipie on this one. It is a sour sweet drink. No bitterness should be in it. So no lime peel thus just line juice and also be gentle to the mint. No bitterness I this happy cocktail. Also most bars over do it on the mint part. 4 leaves are enough. Just a hint of mint not a full grown mint plant. Also use the right mint, there is one that is called Mojito mint. There are many varieties and it really can kill a Mojito when you use spearmint.
Also, I might add, never had a mojito topped with seltzer. Maybe it's because we're alcoholics in Alaska(or we're uncultured swine), but it's always just fill up with rum.
for anybody following the martini recipe: Please don’t use “sweet” vermouth. Use dry vermouth instead. Sweet vermouth is dark and is used for manhattans. Dry vermouth is clear and is used to martinis
@@SynchronizorVideos couldn't have said it better. Don't let the vermouth take over the drink and always garnish with a citrus twist. But what the hell it's your drink do whatever.
@@CrazyGopnik1 Absolutely. The "right" way to drink a spirit or mix a cocktail is whatever way you prefer (assuming you're the one drinking it). But if you're making an instructional video or other guide for a known cocktail, you should either stick to the proper way of making the cocktail or explain specifically what you're changing.
Gotta love a Moscow Mule, but in my experience you add the lime juice to the vodka and let the ginger beer mix them - this is generally because instead of a giant single ice cube you'd use for something you want minimal melting in, you use normal sized cubes so it's nice and cold. That's how I learned to make it.
Always slap the mint leaves twice before putting them into your mojito, never muddle.... Coming from a person that learned from the Bacardi factory in Puerto Rico how to make a mojito: 2 oz Bacardi White Rum 1 Whole Lime Mint Leaves 2 Teaspoons of Sugar Club Soda Squeeze Half a Lime into a chilled glass Cut rest of the lime thinly (or into quarters) Put into the glass Add two teaspoons of sugar Muddles those together until mixed Slap mint leaves twice (VERY IMPORTANT) Rub mint leaves on lip of the glass Drop leaves into the glass Add crushed ice Add rum Top off with club soda Straight from the factory by the bartender there. Simple and very good!
Sorry to correct but in a dry martini you use dry vermouth. I think you just misspoke as the vermouth you're using looks to be a dry one. Sweet vermouth is a fortified red wine versus a fortified white whine which is the dry variety. Sweet vermouth is used in sweeter cocktails like a Manhattan. Other than that I love your videos and I hope you continue to make them!
You are totally right. He was using the correct vermouth (Noilly Prat in the green bottle is dry, in a red bottle it's sweet), but he just called it the wrong thing throughout the martini segment.
Agreed, but you might be surprised to discover that sweet vermouth is also made with white wine; it's the spices & herbs it's infused with that give it the color.
I think it originally refers to London dry gin! Before it was ubiquitous, gin was sweeter, and you had to specify that you wanted the dry stuff. Now usually when people say they want a "dry martini", they're ordering a martini that is light on the vermouth and heavier on the gin.
Great video, although my one criticism is that Martinis are made with gin, not vodka, it's called a kangaroo if its made with vodka. but most people don't use the correct term so whatever. also, you said sweet vermouth instead of dry while making your dry martini.
bonehead0816 lots of people do vodka..but I see your point and you didn't have a problem with that old fashioned? And saying sweet vermouth irritated me a bit because I imagined the taste and..🤢. Luckily he's open to criticism and will make another cideo
Also, those big ice cubes are great for whiskey on the rocks or cocktails like an old fashioned, but dilution is an important part of many cocktails, so there are some things you would want smaller cubes for
If it helps, it's named after a person, a Corsican nobleman, the Count de Negroni, who is credited with inventing the drink. It has no racial implications that I'm aware of.
Best gin martini: (the only martini that matters) 1/2 part noilly prat 3 parts good dry gin 3 good quality whole Sicilian green olives, with seed still intact 2 bar spoons of olive brine Stir in a metal cocktail shaker with ice until the outside is frosty and strain into a chilled glass before adding the olives. You’re welcome 😉
Love this show but the martini... everything, is horrible. However his top posted comment is saying he is going to do a redo of sorts over the weekend while looking over the criticism so mad props for doing that. My quick notes on just the martini section. 1) Martini's can be Gin or Vodka. Gin is the more traditional ingredient but vodka became more popular after the fall of the iron curtain (world trade can be fun and help get you drunk). 2) Dry vermouth only! Or no dry vermouth. First way is to make your martini while staring at an unopened bottle of dry vermouth that is across the room. Second and my preferred way is pre-chill your glass. Pour about 1/4 ounce of dry vermouth into the glass. Leave it while you prepare the martini in your Boston shaker. Now swirl the dry vermouth around the martini glass so that the walls of the glass are coated and then dump out all the dry vermouth. The little bit that clings to the glass is all you need. Now pour your drink. 3) Never shake! Only shake cocktails that you are mixing a fruit juice with a spirit. So a cosmo is ok to shake but a martini is not. Simple rule, if you can see through it don't shake it! Good job on using a filter to catch those ice bits before going into the glass though it is less of a problem is you stir the drink. The goal is to get your drink very cold and not diluted with ice water, stirring accomplishes this just fine while shaking cools the drink faster but incorporates too much dilution. 4) You can get a lot of variety from not just throwing in an olive. For the traditional martini yes an olive or two and dirty if the guest has that preference is perfect. The olives are adding a salt content to the drink so even with a dirty martini three is too many olives and 4 is just flat out wrong. You can substitute a pickled cocktail onion and have a gibson or if you want to stay original but add some flavor blue cheese stuffed olives in a martini are my personal favorite. The blue cheese like the olive are going to add a salt component to the drink so go easier on the olive juice if you take this approach to keep the flavors balanced. So people of youtube, anything I missed? What are your favorite stuffed olives, any fans of the almond stuffed olive?
Excellent points. However, you're talking about a Dry Martini. What about a Classic or a Perfect Martini? They utilize more dry vermouth, or even a bit of red. Hear the man about shaking! It's clear that Babish is a great cook, but doesn't do cocktails.
I agree generally with the shaken principle. You shake a drink either: a) when you need it to be super cold and there's no aromatics that will get lost in the shuffle (such as Gin or herbs), or b) when the drink has cloudy or viscous ingredients that are difficult to mix. Otherwise, just stir your drinks.
Awesome video! So many people miss out on bar skills as a home cooking basic. I'd like to point out one thing, though... You don't want to muddle your mojito until the herb tears, you want to merely bruise it both to avoid the bitterness it will develop if work too thoroughly and to not have the small pieces sneak in while you drink. To reduce the need of muddling; lime in is more of a caipirinha thing, mojitos use the juice. If you want to be a purist.
You need to talk to some of the places I've gotten mojitos from! At least two on the counter now that, from the taste of the drink, just chucked some lime slices into the glass and didn't even bother muddling it. So I ended up with what was basically watered-down rum that had been slightly sweetened. It made for a sad drink, I tell you.
That being said, I did have one somewhere else that advertised being made with Cuban rum that, by the look of the final drink, was gold rather than white. It may be heretical to say, but I think that was was my favourite so far.
andymac4883 probably slightly aged rum. Some joints do it that way and, while I personally don't mix them that way, I also don't mind much if they serve me one somewhere.
Remember to store your fortified wines like vermouth in the fridge! Also don’t forget the mint julep. Super easy to make but you have to make it with crushed ice as well as a good ol mint slap garnish to bring out that aroma. My guests never expect the mint slap. So easy yet very theatrical.
No, only when they're open and oxygen is introduced. Mark a date on the bottle because a general rule of thumb is that fortified wines will last one month from being open. However, I still use my older dry vermouths to deglaze pans when I am cooking.@@Kateydid18
Hey man. Love your videos. As others have pointed out here seems like a few of your recipes deviate from traditional cocktails. Namely: - Old fashioned normally starts with muddling a sugar cube with the bitters - Gin is the liquor of choice in a martini, not vodka. IMHO the gin is the entire reason for ordering a martini. - I think you said sweet vermouth for the dry martini when you meant to say dry vermouth - Typically cocktails served 'up' are stirred and not shaken. Shaking is generally reserved for adding volume or froth to drinks or when you have a strongly flavored mixed (like juice). Stirring is preferring for liquor forward cocktails because it leads to less dilution and preserves the silkier mouthfeel by not aerating the drink.
You can certainly make an old fashioned like that, but personally I'm a fan of replacing it with Simple Syrup, the main reason being that you will literally never dissolve that sugar cube entirely once you introduce the ice and try to give it a stir. Of course, when the Old Fashioned was created, Ice wasn't exactly a thing. So it really just comes down to preference.
@@beastlymclaren4631 He also used vodka rather than gin, and shook the thing rather than stirring it properly. Basically everything you're NOT supposed to do for a traditional martini.
The best tip with shaking vs stirring is if it has citrus, shake it. Otherwise stir it, like the martini absolutely should be stirred. It makes a world of a difference.
I fully support tito's as well, but fun fact... Smirnoff ran out of Russia because they were crazy and came to Murica! True story. Edit : this drink started just before the cold War and lost momentum because of it.
Bars nowadays shine away from muddling sugar and bitters at the bottom of a rocks glass and use simple syrup instead bc it’s literally the same thing but faster and more consistent
truth brother....you want to sit there and muddle sugar cubes with bitters be my guest....we need to serve quickly and also make money....simple syrup all the way. And also martini/old fashion/negroni always stirred in the mixing glass. I still like Babish he seems like a good dude :)
Okay some things to definitely change here: Martini. Always stirred not shaken. Shaking will dilute the drink too much whilst stirring regulates the dilution and won't water it down. Old Fashioned. Make sure you stir it. Sugar cube first with the bitters then crush the cube. Add your ice and then add your bourbon and stir till you get the right dilution (Approx. 30 seconds). Then orange zest garnish and the flaming orange zest is unnecessary for the drink and will actually hinder the drink. Save that for a cosmopolitan. You can garnish with a orange peel and maraschino cherry skewer if you want to get fancy. Margarita is shaken and strained. Good point on the tequila because it is important. Mojito is sugar syrup not cubes. When it comes to a gin and tonic, get adventurous. Lime is great with gin but try pink grapefruit, coriander seeds, basil, mint, thyme, rosemary, blueberries, and anything that you may think will pair with the botanicals in the gin! For a video like this I would also suggest the expresso martini as a must know drink because everyone loves and orders it. Here's the receipe: 1oz or 30ml Expresso 1oz or 30ml Coffee Liqueur 1oz or 30ml Vodka (Depending on your liqueur and your taste adjust) 0.16oz or 5ml of Sugar Syrup (my preference) Shake and strain into coupet or martini glass and garnish with 3 coffee beans in a flower shape.
I love your channel but i feel like these are Babish's cocktail recipes, not necessarily "how to make classic cocktails". Always shake citrus drinks like the Margarita, build drinks such as the Old Fashioned in a rocks glass with sugar and bitters first, build the Negroni in a stirring glass and then pour them into rocks glasses with fresh ice, muddle lime and sugar first and then mint for the Mojito so you don't bruise the mint. I get that you're trying to make these recipes accessible to the public though.
Actually its perfectly acceptable to build a negori, manhattan or old fashioned in the glass but you need to need to stir gently for 20~30 seconds to incorporate.
i once saw a professional bartender at a holiday cocktail bar use the swirly spoon for another purpose: it is to delicately drain the tonic from your container into your glass to that more of the fine bubbles are preserved. dumping it in just makes a whole mess. especially when you're drinking gin and tonic, it makes all the difference!
Giffy_Mcgee Cocktail Chemistry is from San Francisco, Babish from New York, bit of a travel for a singular episode... Now How to Drink on the other hand, is also from New York... Greg, this would have been your chance dammit
I think all the people here would love "How to drink", another amazing channel which this reminds me of. Not promoting anyone but just another dope channel Cheers
A few tips. Lime squeezer, buy the color of the fruit you are going to squeeze. Shaker tins, buy the ones with the weight on the bottom. It just makes things easier. You can tell by the additional metal on the bottom. Wine keys with two hinges! Always fully ice a glass if you are just serving in the mixing glass. Muddlers for mint should have a smooth bottom - - you only want to bend the "hairs" over. Muddle too hard and the drink becomes bitter. Old fashioned. Omg no! I'm dying! Sugar, bitters, orange, cherry, muddle those up, textured muddlers are fine here. Make sure you get the oil out of the orange rind. Ice it up, add either brandy, whiskey, or bourbon, then top with sweet, sour, press, club soda or water. Thanks for sharing a parts of the bar! Please take a look at my suggestions!
There is no cherry in an OF. You do not muddle orange in an OF. If that is how you do it and enjoy it that's fine but you are not drinking an OF. Place a sugar cube in the bottom of the glass. Dash bitters into the sugar. Add a bar spoon of water and muddle. add your bourbon and ice and stir until cold. Garnish with an expressed orange slice. Also. You do not add sweet and sour or club soda.
Scott W I’m sorry my man but cherry is not in an old fashioned. A lot of people add it for color and flavor but John is correct, that is the traditional old fashioned. If you like cherry in it please have it but that is not the traditional method for an old fashioned.
TheBubyChris The cherry was popularized around the 90s based off of the publications I could find. Look, if you want RU-vid or some random book being the "say all, be all," you are wrong. The customer dictates your business. I respect your rebuttal, but I've had a long day. Drinks are created regional. I have more than enough experience to know there is plenty of bullshit out there. Look up a cosmo or sex on the beach and see how many different concoctions show up. Then look up the source, the region. You want a traditional drink? Great! I love them! Raw egg? My favorite! These are some of my favorite styles of cocktails. Now when I try to spin this into modern day bartending, customers cringe at raw eggs. They also do not understand that Squirt, 50/50 is not a sour mix. They also do not understand carbonated sodas were a bar standard. How about twist as a garnish. I hate making old fashions from scratch. I am told that I make the best old fashions in town. So here is my secret recipe. A packet of sugar. Slice of orange, dash of bitters, Moschino cherry, muddle everything. Typically add whiskey, ice then, 7up. That is my most requested drink here in green bay wisconsin.
John Sims a cherry is often used, but as a garnish. A cherry and orange peel as a garnish is called a "crown" and is used often when you make a drink with the same name as the glass it is in
What is your expensive bourbon of choice? Also, a Martini traditionally should be made with gin and stirred, shaking can "bruise" the flavor. Love the commentary
To make an old fashioned you actually want to get a sugar cube maybe two depending on how sweet you want it, douse with the bitters then muddle. You will find that sugar doesn't dissolve in bourbon if you don't do this. After that just pour in your bourbon and ice then stir. For a really long time. Finally garnish with a slightly burnt orange peel
It would be so helpful if you did a basics with babish episode where you show how to make a basic meal like veggies rice and chicken breast or just something simple for beginners
Not criticism, just trivia: Wonder why some martinis are stirred, it's for gin martinis. You have to stir gin, because shaking bruises it. Not trivia, just criticism: You said ALL the bells and whistles. At the border, a margarita with ALL the bells and whistles, will often have it's rim garnished with a spice that tastes strikingly similar to metallic bells and whistles. Warning: consume bells and whistles at your own risk. Love ya Andrew
If your cocktail contains fruit juice, you shake. No juice, you stir. Reason being that with a stirred cocktail that contains no fruit juice, you want to preserve the clarity of the beverage. You end up with a cloudy drink any time you shake. Since you are going to end up with something pretty cloudy any time you use fruit juice, it's okay to shake. Hey babish, check out the guys at barsmarts! You could learn a lot about a property crafted cocktail from those guys.
It is the ice that gets bruised... Avoid getting any shards in the "pure presentation of the alcohol" was the way I had learned it. The more important thing is that you use dry vermouth, not sweet (also way less)
Let me give you the secret to making the perfect Mojito. 1. put 3x lime wedges pour in 1cl of simple syrup and mudddle. 2. put in 3-5 leaves of mint (depending in size and taste). Then muddle carefully so you dont break the leaves (quater turn) (over muddled mint goes up your straw and is not a pleasant experience) 3.a pich of sugar, 3cl of white rum and fill the glass 2/3 with curshed ice. 4. fil up the rest of the glass with crushed ice and top with soda now you got the perfect Mojito, enjoy :) PS. the mojito that you have made got lots of small pieces of mint that will creep up the straw.
Great tips, I personally scale my equipment and bottle list down for people just starting out so you don't break the bank; but long term these are all an absolute must! Cheers!
You dont want to muddle mint, its a huge no-go in the bar world. Rather just give your mint a smack to release the flavor and muddle sugar and lime beforehand.
Old fashioned: sugar cube muddled with 2 bitters shakes then bourbon OR rye whiskey, clear ice block, stir until sugar dissolves, then the orange peel thing, stir serve
"that cocktail you've ordered on every awkward first date you've ever been on" I think you're doing something really wrong if your gin and tonic taste like a martini
Drinking game: every time Andrew says “high quality” or “tequila” , take a shot and hum the saxophone bit from “tequila” by the champs, you know the one
A classic Martini should use gin. Generally a London Dry gin, that is how you make a "dry" martini, use more dry gin. Since they all use the same vermouth.
Regardless of the merits of Smirnoff as a booze, it's my understanding that the moscow mule was the cocktail that first got vodka noticed by Americans in the 1950s, and the vodka of choice back then was Smirnoff. (I think I read that in Ted "Dr. Cocktail" Haigh's book, but I could be mistaken.)
Smirnoff is a perfectly fine vodka. It's very smooth and neutral which makes it perfect for shots or mixed drinks, or cocktails with more ingredients. Most other vodkas are literally just a waste of money. For martinis, I would upgrade to Tito's but that's about it, if I'm going to spend money it's gonna be on a nice wine or whisky. In my experience, Smirnoff also doesn't give me a headache even if I overindulge. Ketel One is also fine. For whatever reason Smirnoff has an undeservedly bad reputation.
