Mr. Muddle
Call me dramatic but you’ve never lived if you’ve never muddled before… If you’ve never heard of it, muddling is one of the best mixology techniques that adds flavor without using syrups or juices and is a great first step in stepping up your cocktail game. Muddling allows you to include more ingredients and add complexity to your cocktails in a simple way!
Muddling is simply pressing down and turning on (or less delicately, mashing up) your ingredients in simple syrup or your spirit to release more flavor. You can muddle fruits, vegetables, herbs, citrus, and so much more. There are many great muddlers on the market, as it is a staple tool in any great bar. You can find them at most stores but any wide flat surface will work, like the back of a wooden spoon or an ice cream scoop.
If you’re not sold on muddling, check out these three recent cocktails I’ve made that require you to muddle your ingredients!
The Verdes Marg
1.5 oz Blanco Tequila
.75 oz Lime Juice
.75 oz Aloe Juice
.5 oz Agave
3 Cucumber Wheels
6 Mint Leaves
In a shaker, muddle mint and cucumber, in agave and angelica liqueur. Add in the remaining ingredients and top with ice. Shake for 15 seconds and double strain into a tumbler filled with crushed ice. Garnish with cucumber ribbons and fresh mint. Enjoy!
April Showers
2 oz Amber Rum
1/2 a Lemon
.75 oz Ginger Liqueur
5 Raspberries
1/4 of a Star Fruit
In a tin, muddle raspberries and starfruit in ginger liqueur. Add in the lemon, rum, and ice, and shake vigorously for 15 seconds. Double strain into a collins glass over ice and garnish with more raspberries. Enjoy!
The Mr. O’Connor
2 oz American Gin
.75 oz Tonic Syrup
.75 oz Pineapple Juice
.75 oz Lime Juice
.5 oz Elderflower Liqueur
In a shaker, muddle basil in tonic syrup. Add in remaining ingredients and shake with ice for 20 seconds until chilled. Double strain into a tumbler over ice. Garnish with a pineapple frond and plume of basil.
Some tips on muddling…
The key to muddling is knowing how much to muddle!
Herbs like mint or basil are more fragile than other ingredients, so the key is to muddle lightly, just two to three presses are enough, any more than that and the herbs will turn bitter.
Fruits and vegetables like kiwis, cucumbers, and pineapples (to name a few), require more muddling, use your judgment and muddle until it’s mostly broken down.
Coarser ingredients, like ginger, require some elbow grease because they’re so dense, go to town!