Garnishes
Never go too far with your cocktail garnishes. To quote Guy Ritchie’s Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels:
Bacon: What’s that?
Samoan Joe’s Barman: It’s a cocktail. You asked for a cocktail.
Bacon: No. I asked you to give me a refreshing drink. I wasn’t expecting a rainforest! You could fall in love with an orangutan in that!
Samoan Joe’s Barman: You want a pint, you go to the pub.
Bacon: I thought this was a pub!
Samoan Joes Barman: It’s a Samoan pub.
That being said, garnishes can add that extra zing to make a cocktail amazing.
Frosting
Make your glasses look great with frosting of salt, sugar or even cocoa powder for a Brandy Alexander. Tip the rim of the glass in water or something sticky and edible like fruit juice or egg white. Now dip into your choice of frosting and voila! C’est magnifique.
Oranges and Lemons, sang the bells of St Clemens
Citrus fruits are a stock standard of any bartender. Get creative with lemons, limes, oranges and kumquats. Most citrus fruits can be twisted or grated to add colour and flavour.
Other fruits
Don’t be shy to experiment with soft fruit like strawberries, peaches, apricots, cherries and blackberries. In fact, try and match up the drink to the fruit – so strawberries with strawberry liqueur, for example.
Try some other garnishes
- Mint
- Chocolate
- Celery
- Tomatoes
- Nutmeg
- Olives
- Cinnamon
