Ice, Ice, Baby

 "I feel sorry for people who don't drink. When they wake up in the morning, that's as good as they're going to feel all day." - Frank Sinatra

It should come as no surprise to any loyal M.K.O.R. readers that our staff enjoys a good cocktail (or five or six) from time to time. Once things really get rolling here, we'll have no shortage of useful beverage-related links. One of the things I've noticed since becoming cocktail-aware is that there are an awful lot of terrible bartenders out there. I'm pretty sure that Frank would not approve.

So, over time I've come to really appreciate when a mixologist knows the fundamentals of their craft and how to avoid the boneheaded mistakes that can ruin a perfectly good drink.  As an example, a few weeks ago I was in a bar in New Orleans watching the Preakness. My friend, who is a Tennessee gentleman, insisted that we have Woodford Reserve mint juleps to commemorate the occasion. Big mistake. I watched in horror as the bartender rattled the sweet, precious nectar around with mint and ice in a shaker, then poured it into a double old-fashioned glass. Let's put aside the obvious blunders of shredding the mint and serving in the wrong kind of glass - instead of pouring neat bourbon over fresh crushed ice, he poured out the shaker contents directly and the drink was way too watery as the ice continued to melt into it.

Fortunately, bartender Kevin Martin from Boston mixology mainstay Eastern Standard is here to save the day. This video makes you appreciate how such a seemingly simple thing can make or break a cocktail:





Watch and learn.  For those who could benefit from a simpler review of the topic of ice in cocktails, Pacific Northwest wunderkind Jamie Boudreau is happy to school you, too.