How to make the perfect cocktail

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0:22We really wanted to make sure that this was going to be the final cookbook that we ever make on cocktails. So it's going to cover the entire gamut from people who have never shaken or stirred before to people who have done it for years. And if you have done it for years, you will learn something more in this book. Today's episode is news you can use to booze. You'll learn how to make some great classic cocktails and find out why James Bond was wrong about his martini.

0:57It's Friday, December 26th, and this is Here and Now Anytime on NPR and WVUR Boston. I'm Chris Bentley. I hope you had a nice Hanukkah or Christmas or both if you celebrate, but it's time to give the eggnog and the red wine a rest because today on the show, we're talking cocktails. Indira Lakshmanan got an invite to the bar at America's Test Kitchen where the author of a new book they're calling Cocktails Illustrated lays out everything you need to know about making great cocktails and why it's not as hard as you might think. In a few minutes, we're going to hear how to make a perfect martini, why ice is so important in the perfect drink, and so much more.

1:38But first, Indira is here with me now. And Indira, be honest, was this the best assignment you've gotten so far as the new host of Here and Now? Pretty much awesome. Being paid to mix and drink drinks for a living. It was pretty great. I believe it. Well, this book, it sounds great. I might check it out. It promises something for people totally new to mixing their own cocktails, but also stuff for people who already know their way around the bar. What's your cocktail background? Are you into them already? Do you have a favorite drink? Probably the Mojito and the Caipirinha. Oh, nice. Yeah, I like the sort of light spirits, and I like that sort of tropical or citrus vibe.

2:20As for my experience with cocktails, other than drinking them, I can't say I had that much. I didn't really know how to make a cocktail beforehand. And I was always scared off by the martini, which seemed like such a strong and powerful drink. Same with the old fashioned, not something that I would normally imbibe if given the choice. And what was so great about our wonderful guest, Joe Gitter, was that, you know, not only was he one of the lead authors, editors of this new cocktails Bible that America's Test Kitchen has come out with. But he really broke it down and made it simple for how to make a beautiful, smooth drink that really tastes great.

3:03So it was a wonderful experience. I totally get the being intimidated by martinis on a number of levels. But hey, the caipirinha is no slouch when it comes to powerful drinks. That's like, that's cachaça, Brazilian sugarcane rum and sugar and limes. And that's it, right? And ice. Yeah, but it tastes so good. It's got that sweetness and the sourness. So it has sort of a lot more fruitiness, a lot more going on than some of the kind of traditional cocktails that Joe told us about. Yeah, yeah. And then along with the mojito, yeah, lime, sugar, tropical flavors. I see you've got a cocktail profile there.

3:38It goes back to my years in Latin America. Did you ever get into Pisco Sours as well? That's a South American specialty. Oh my God, yes. I started my time in Latin America actually in Chile, which is one of the homes of the Pisco Sours. So you've just put your finger on my three favorite drinks, Pisco Sour, Mojitos, and Caperinas. Nice. I love those two. Although I'm like more of a whiskey guy, I'd say. I'd like a Via Carre, a Manhattan, those sorts of drinks. Okay. Those to me are too powerful. They're too serious. There you go. Well, that's, I mean, that raises a good point because as you get into in this conversation, we're going to hear in just a minute with Joe Gitter from America's Test Kitchen, And cocktail making, cocktail bars can sometimes be intimidating.

4:21And, you know, I don't really hear this term as much as I used to, but I remember hearing like mixology being thrown around a lot, which makes it sound like a science, which I guess it kind of is. But you kind of went back to the basics with Joe Gitter in this conversation. So what's something that you took away that you're going to be using next time you fix a drink? Well, actually, science is a really good word for it. It is chemistry. And Joe explained that part of what they do at America's Test Kitchen is try to break down the science of chemistry. cooking, or in this case, the science of mixology.

4:50What I'm going to take away is that you only need a few basic tools. One of them is a jigger, one of them is a thermometer, one is the right kind of spoon, and of course, the crucial ice. And that with a few basic tools, you can really make a very, very special cocktail and you don't have to be so intimidated. The other thing I'm going to take away is that James Bond was wrong, that martinis should be stirred and not shaken. So stay tuned and you'll hear more about that. That's right. And you and I will have to get a drink sometime, Indira Lakshmanan. I'm looking forward to it. You too. Cheers and Happy New Year.

5:55We'll be right back. companies to find you the best fit for your health, your lifestyle, and your budget. And they work for you for free. Get the right life insurance for you and save more than 50 % at selectquote.com slash anytime. That's 50 % off at selectquote.com slash anytime. If you're hosting this year and the idea of mixing sophisticated cocktails sounds daunting, have no fear because we're joined today by an expert who's going to teach us to make perfect cocktails for the most discerning guests. Joe Gitter is a senior books editor at America's Test Kitchen, which is out with a gorgeous new coffee table book, or maybe we should call it a bar top Bible, Cocktails Illustrated.

6:40Joe, it is great to have you and we're going to craft some cocktails together. Welcome. It's great to be here. And first, I'd like you to set the stage for us by reading the first paragraph under Becoming a Great Home Bartender. A cocktail is about so much more than the liquid in the glass. The proportions of the ingredients, how long you stir or shake, how you strain, the quality of the ice, the choice of glass, the style of garnish. Many elements are integral to the experience of a transcendent give-me-more cocktail. Well, I love that. And it tells us right away that this is not just about pouring some rum into a can of Coke.

7:19You are talking about crafting an experience. The book has chapters on everything from ingredients, liqueurs, glassware, and techniques from building, swizzling, stirring, shaking, muddling, ice making. It has more than 400 recipes. Is this book aimed at novices or at cocktail experts? We really wanted to make sure that this was going to be the final cookbook that we ever make on cocktails. So it's going to cover the entire gamut from people who have never shaken or stirred before to people who have done it for years. And if you have done it for years, you will learn something more in this book.

7:53So we're going to make some cocktails from this book. Let's get started. Yeah, we're going to make some cocktails. All right. So we're going to start off by making a classic cocktail. Yeah, let's do that. Yeah, and it's famous for the debate over how to mix it. One man famously fell on one side of that debate. A martini shaken, not stirred. Shaken, not stirred. Shaken, but not stirred. Shaken, not stirred. A martini for our guest, Aline. A pleasure. Shaken, not stirred. Of course. So indeed, James Bond ordered his martinis shaken, not stirred. But Joe, while we make this martini now, can you settle the debate for us?

8:29Should it be shaken or stirred? It should absolutely be stirred. I think James Bond was really showing off. You know, it's a lot more exciting to hear ice rattling through the cocktail shaker, shearing through the drink. There's a happy sound when you walk into a cocktail bar. But stirred gives you a much superior product. So we're going to start off by making a classic dry martini. And when you say a dry martini, what you mean is it's the proportion of gin to dry vermouth. And the more dry vermouth you have, the wetter it is, the less dry vermouth, the drier it is. Okay. Which is rather confusing.

9:01But most dry martinis have a ratio of about four to one. Actually, let's make a double so we can have one each, shall we? All right, let's do it. So I'm going to add four ounces of dry gin to my mixing glass. And then to that, I'm going to add one ounce of dry vermouth. Now we're going to add probably the most important ingredient in a martini and that's ice. So we're going to take our mixing glass, we've got our booze already in there, and I'm going to fill it up with our ice. And you really don't want to scrimp on here because when we do that with ice, we are really controlling the dilution of the drink.

9:38Now I'm going to stir my drink. You're using a very special spoon that is not my grandmother's teaspoon. Tell us about why this spoon matters. Yes, so this is a very elegant bit of kit. You'll have a long diagonal channel running down this long stem so that you can really grasp onto it. It allows you to very efficiently stir your drink. So as you watch it, the curved side of the spoon is running against the wall of the glass. And as we do that, the ice is circulating around. So what's happening in there is the warmer martini is moving around the ice. And as it moves around the ice, it melts it.

10:12And that is what causes the drink to get cold. As it melts, it adds water. And it's that dilution that really takes a bunch of gin and a little bit of dry vermouth and turns it into a super smooth gin martini. So the most important thing when you're making a martini, actually with any cocktail, is not to under mix it. This has got to be a very physical exercise because what you're doing is you're encouraging the ice to melt. And that ice melting gives you dilution, which allows you to taste the drink so much more. And so how long do you stir it for? Most people will tell you to stir a drink for 15 to 30 seconds.

10:47But we actually found that that wasn't enough. And in fact, you want to go for a full minute. All right. And there's actually a way to tell when your drink has got to the perfect level of dilution. And that's to use a thermometer. All right. I see one in your hand. What temperature are we going for? So we're looking for a 25 degree martini. And it's at this point that you know that the gins, botanicals have opened up enough to make this a really appealing drink. Did we hit that number? We hit that number. I'll show you the number. Looks great. Ding, ding. Now we're going to pour our drinks. Now you're using a special kind of strainer there.

11:20Tell us about that. That's right. That's gone on top of your mixing glass. I'm using a hawthorn strainer here. Okay. So this is a flat piece of metal with a few perforations in it. And then there's a coil going through it as well. The coil traps any little bits of ice and prevents it from going into your drink. And then the last question is, how do you light your martini? With a twist? Or do you have it with olives? Oh, I'd love a twist. You like a twist? Okay, very good. That's fabulous. Okay, and putting it in, it looks so fancy. I feel like I'm at Harry's bar. Let me serve you your martini.

11:50Oh, this is fabulous. Am I going to guess that you're taking yours dirty? I'm not going to go dirty, but I am going to have some olives. I like a more savory martini. And that, again, that emphasizes the more savory aspects of the dry vermouth. Fantastic. Whereas I think with your drink, you'll find that the lemon oils really bring out the sweeter elements of the gin. Which is what I love. All right. Exactly. Cheers. Indira, cheers. Clink, clink. The first of the day. All right. Mmm. Oh, that is delicious. This is truly the best martini that I've ever had. This is amazing. Cold and fresh. Everything about it, that's just pure.

12:41Let's go next to your brown butter and maple old fashioned. I mean, that just sounds very complicated. Tell us about the cocktail as we go. So there's a technique called fat washing, and this was developed about 15, 20 years ago in Brooklyn. Turns out that alcohol is an amazing solvent. That's why we use alcohol to clean off the sticky residue off a jam jar. That's because it's so amazing at dissolving things. Alcohol is an amazing solvent because it also can extract oil-soluble compounds. So things that are normally trapped up in fats, so things like coconut oil, butter, bacon fat, you can extract those flavours from those fats and pull it into a drink.

13:23Wow. And it sounds kind of intimidating, but it could not be simpler. All you have to do is you have to take a mason jar full of bourbon, make some brown butter, Let the brown butter cool slightly because you don't want to put 400 degree oil into an alcohol. Let it cool slightly. Put it into your bourbon. Let it sit for 12 to 24 hours and then strain it off. And then you've got bourbon that smells like brown butter. Oh, my goodness. That smells incredible. Very nice. So this is such a perfect fall weather cozy drink. And it's a lovely way to finish a meal. It could almost act as dessert. It's not too sweet, but it's really satisfying.

14:00For two drinks, I'm putting in four ounces of our brown butter bourbon. All right. And then an old-fashioned cocktail always has a little bit of sweetness to it. And so I'm just going to add a teaspoon per drink. An old-fashioned would typically use simple syrup, but we're actually going to use maple to really go along. Yeah, I can see that. That's amazing. So I've just got some maple syrup. You can just use that in cocktails as if it were simple syrup. And then to that, we're just going to add a little bit of bitters. So now we're going to shovel the ice in because just like the martini, we really want our old-fashioned to be properly diluted because that's going to really get rid of the harshness from the alcohol and just enable you to taste more of those subtle flavours.

14:40And while you're stirring that, I just want to comment the old-fashioned is a classic cocktail on the rocks and something that your book gets really passionate about is the idea that the ice should be completely clear. What difference does ice really make? Yeah, well, so all ice is just simply frozen water. And there really isn't very much difference between it from a flavour point of view. But what you will find is the appearance changes so much. Now, the dimensions of the ice that you put into your glass really does matter. Because the more surface area you have, the more it's going to melt, the more it's going to dilute your drink, the more it's going to chill your drink.

15:14Something like an old-fashioned or a whiskey on the rocks, you're going to drink it very slowly. You know, you don't want it to get overly watered down. So for that, you really want to use a nice big cube of ice. Okay, here we go. And if you look at your drink, you'll really find that if you look at it from the side on, you can't even see that there's ice in there. No, you can't at all because the ice is so unbelievably clear. That's crazy. It's like an optical illusion. All right, cheers. Cheers. Okay, the first thing that hits me there is the incredible aromas. That is amazing. And I do taste the maple.

15:50I do taste the brown butter. This is like nestle up to the fire. Delicious. All right. I understand the last cocktail that you'll be making for us today is the Negroni, but this one is a little bit different. You call it a fridge door Negroni. What do you mean by that? I think there's one way to really upgrade a dinner party. That's to serve cocktails. You know, when people come around and you say, who wants a cocktail? People just light up. It's really easy to make a cocktail for one or two people, just like I did. For eight people, not so much, right? There isn't enough space in the mixing glasses, in your shaker.

16:22So what do you do? The thing is you can make the whole drink in advance, throw it in the freezer, and when people turn up for your party, you just need to pop open the bottle and pour them a glass. So for this Negroni, it's an equal parts cocktail, which means we have an equal amount of gin, sweet vermouth and Campari. But when you batch the cocktail and you throw it into the freezer, you're not getting the dilution that you normally get from stirring a drink with ice. So remember you add a lot of water to a drink from stirring it. So what you have to do is you need to add another equal part of water.

16:56So let me pull it out of my cooler. All right. Grab our little glasses. Again, you won't have an agroni on the rocks. This is a drink that's going to evolve as you drink it. And the extra dilution really sort of changes the way that you perceive the drink. A drink on the rocks just starts off pretty stiff, almost like, you know, you have a little sip of scotch and you have it straight just to really get that initial power. Right. And then when you dilute it, that's when you taste more of the subtleties. Okay, and now a Negroni is great with a little bit of orange expressed over it. I'm just going to take a peeler, take a two-inch strip of orange zest, and I'm going to express the orange over your drink.

17:32Gorgeous. Thank you very much, sir. Okay, do you have yours? I've got mine. All right, cheers. Oh, my goodness. Okay, this is my favorite. That's a love for me. I absolutely love it. All right, well, this is all amazing, Joe, but let's be honest. cocktail making does seem intimidating and expensive. Yes. Stir or shake something for exactly this many seconds, make perfectly clear ice, pour it into this glass, use this utensil. Not everyone can stock a full bar at home. So tell me what are the bare essentials that one needs to do this on a budget? The sky is the limit with the cocktail gear and bottles you can buy, but you don't need very much at all.

18:12I think there are really just four things that you need to be able to make a truly amazing cocktail. You can make probably 80 % to 90 % of the cocktails in our book with just these four bits of equipment. All right, tell us. What are they? The first thing you need is you need a cocktail shaker. Okay. That's literally all you need. You can shake your drinks, obviously, but you can stir your drinks in it as well. That brings us to the second bit of gear you need, a bar spoon. Very inexpensive. It's roughly 10 to 12 inches long. It's got a long, thin handle. It's very useful for plucking out maraschino cherries from a jar.

18:41you need a jigger because it's really important to measure out your ingredients. Of course. That's how you're going to know that you're going to make the same cocktail every time and to the specification that you like. Okay. And then I'd say the last thing you need is a really good citrus juicer. I'm using a press style juicer. It has a cup and then it has a metal ball on top, which pushes into the fruit, which expresses out the juice. But what it will also do, it will express out the lemon oils into the drink. So you'll have a more flavorful fruit juice as well. And those four things is really all you need to get started on almost any cocktail.

19:15It's going to take us a long way on the 400 recipes which we need to make our way through. Thank you so much. That is Joe Gitter from America's Test Kitchen. And the Cocktails Illustrated book is out now. Joe, thank you so much. And cheers. Cheers, Indira. It's been a pleasure. That's it for us this Boxing Day. Check out hereandnow.org for recipes for that perfect gin, martini, and brown butter maple old-fashioned. And we'll put a link in the show notes. So check out the link in the episode description. Enjoy this podcast responsibly by alternating with glasses of water and clicking that follow button wherever you're hearing us.

19:51So you don't miss an episode of Here and Now Anytime, which comes to you from NPR and WBUR Boston.

19:59Our conversation today on cocktails was produced by Thomas Danielian, a true ambassador of the British Isles who alternates the sophisticated single malts of his native Scotland. with the cheeky flamboyance of that English libation, the porn star martini. Cheers, Thomas. And to editors Mark Navin and Micaela Rodriguez. Technical direction from Matt Reed and Caleb Green, engineers who always have the last word. Our theme music is by Mike Pischetto, Max Liebman, and me, Chris Bentley. Our digital producers are Alison Hagen and Grace Griffin. And here and now's executive producer is Alan Price, who's already snuck off this weekend for a wee dram of scotch.

20:42And cheers to you. Thanks for listening. I am off till next year. See you in 2026. But here and now anytime, we'll have new episodes every single weekday of the year, as always. So we'll be back with you on Monday. Have a great weekend.