There are different types of cocktails, and many of them use fruit as ingredients, either for decoration or to enhance the flavor of the drink. However, as it is a fresh ingredient, you need to pay attention to some details when making a cocktail, so as not to make mistakes in the preparation and turn your dream cocktail into a kitchen nightmare.
On May 18th, we celebrate National Cocktail Day. To celebrate this date, we’ve brought you some tips on how to use fruits in your cocktail correctly. Take your Kalvelage out of the closet, separate the fruits, and come learn with us.
Cocktail or drink?
First, let’s differentiate these two terms. Nowadays, it is more common to hear the term drink, while the word cocktail has lost some of its strength. However, drink means drink, that is, any drink (alcoholic or not). A cocktail is the mixing of an alcoholic drink with other drinks.
The first citation of the word cocktail occurred in England (“cocktail”), and referred to horses of mixed breed. The first appearance of the word related to drinks was at the beginning of the 19th century, and represented a stimulating drink, made from spirits of any kind, sugar, water and bitters. Because of this, many bartenders identify cocktails and drinks as different things.
Use fresh fruit
Fresh foods are tastier, have a more beautiful color and will make your drink incredible.
Value regionality
You can spend the whole year wanting to make a cocktail with strawberries, but the fruit has a specific harvest period. Use this period to prepare your drink. During it, you will find fresher fruits, making the cocktail even tastier. Brazil is a very large country and very rich in vegetation. Many regions have unique fruits, so use them to make different cocktails in each season of the year, making the experience even more enriching.
Make the most of fruit
There is no need to squeeze the juice from the fruit and throw everything else in the trash. Remove the rind to use the essential oils or to decorate the cocktail. The pomace can be used in the production of jellies. Finally, everything else can still be used as fertilizer for your garden or vegetable garden.
Research myths and appropriate uses
They say that the lemon pith makes the drink bitter. However, what can make the cocktail bitter is crushing or rubbing the fruit skin too much. There are several myths like this, so it is important to research this whenever a question arises when preparing a recipe. With just a few minutes of research, your drink will be much better.
Use the peels
Fruit peels can be used to flavor base drinks. For example, by leaving the vodka to rest for approximately five hours with fruit peels, such as pineapple, lemon or orange, in a tightly sealed jar, you will have a flavored distillate, which will further enhance your cocktail.
Did you like these tips? On the Kalvelage website you will find several cocktail recipes using our drinks. Don’t forget to check it out!
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