Bar Mixes

 

In 1806, the very first known definition of the word cocktail was in the The Balance and Columbian Repository of Hudson, New York. It said, Cocktail is stimulating liquor composed of spirits of any kind, sugar, water, and bitters.


Mention the word "bitters" to a cocktail connoisseur, modern mixologist, bar chef, or Cocktailian (a word coined by Gary Regan) and their eyes light up. Almost every bar has a bottle of the most popular Trinidad bitters, Angostura (ang-uh-STORE-ah), with it’s funky paper label that doesn’t form fit to the top part of the bottle, but I’d guess that 80% of the bartenders nationwide know nothing about this mysterious potion. Oh yeah, they’ve coated a lemon wedge with it and given it to a guest to suck for hiccups, jerked several dashes in a short glass of soda water to cure a stomach ache, and hey, they’ve even tried to read the writing on the label on a slow afternoon only to discover that this stuff is, wow, 90 proof!

 

Another 19% only know to use it in a Manhattan and an Old Fashioned. But what is bitters? Bitters is made from the distillation of aromatic herbs, spices, bark, roots, and seeds. Common items used include, dried orange peels, myrrh, saffron, caraway seeds, cardamom seeds, coriander seeds, chamomile, rhubarb, bark, and other secret ingredients.

Gary Regan says that adding two drops of bitters to a modern cocktail such as a Lemondrop can give it added dimension. Thinking of a 3-D Lemondrop on my tongue makes me smile. Other common bitters are Peychaud’s ((PAY-show ds), the kind used in a Sazerac), Amer Picon (pee-KAWN), and Regan’s Orange Bitters. Potable forms of bitters include, Germany’s Jägermeister, Italy’s Campari and Fernet Branca (FAIR-nay BRAHN-kah), and Denmark’s Gammel Dansk.

 

 

Juice Mixes

Orange juice, cranberry juice, pineapple juice, grapefruit juice, lemon & limejuice (sweet-n-sour mix), bloody Mary mix, strawberry mix, olive juice, V-8 juice, and tomato juice.

These are the most common juices found in most American bars. Low-end bars won’t carry the tomato juice and they normally get very little call for pineapple and grapefruit juice so they usually keep small individual cans in stock for that rare occasion. High-end bars will make their own bloody mary mix, fresh squeeze all of these juices (to order in some cases), stock white cranberry juice, and carry pink grapefruit over white. Sadly, some meat market nightclub bars you’ll find juice-on-a-gun which is the most disgusting man made sugar flavored liquid on this earth and would make Jerry Thomas turn over in his grave.


Other juices that you may find in high-end handmade cocktail bars are; apple, tangerine, passion fruit, youngberry, lychee, black berry, pomegranate, apple cider, coconut milk, watermelon, loganberry, aloe vera, and tamarind.


Bars in tropical locations or with tropical themes as well as some high-end bars will carry exotic nectars such as: pear, peach, banana, mango, papaya, and guava.

Some common juice mix drinks are: Screwdriver, Bloody Mary, Cape Codder, Greyhound, Seabreeze, Baybreeze, and Madras.

NOTE: Orange juice and sweet-n-sour mix are usually kept together and closest to the well because they are used most often.

 

 

Sweet Mixes

Simple syrup, grenadine, maraschino syrup, coconut cream, flavored syrups, liqueurs & cordials, honey, gomme (GAWM, a French simple syrup), orgeat (OAR-zhat), lime cordial like Rose’s limejuice and any other flavored syrups.


Some common sweet mix drinks are: Tequila Sunrise, Piña Colada, Mai Tai, Gimlet, Kamikaze, and Daiquiri.

 

 

Savory Mixes

Hot sauces, Worcestershire sauce (WOOS-tuhr-sheer), beef bouillon, steak sauce, Clamato juice, and clam juice.


Some common savory mix drinks are; Bloody Mary, Bloody Bull, Bloody Caesar, Bloody Maria, Red Eye, and Prairie Fire.

 

 

Sundry Mixes

As you know, sundry means various kinds of things and since there are some mixes that didn’t fit into the other categories I made a sundry category.


Bitters, vanilla extract, flower waters, horseradish, and wasabi.


Common drinks using sundry mixes are: Ramos Fizz, Old Fashioned, Manhattan, Bloody Mary, and Piña Colada.

 

 

Dairy Mixes

 


Milk, cream, half & half, whipped cream, ice cream, hot chocolate, yogurt, unsalted butter, egg nog, eggs, and egg white.


Some common dairy mix drinks are: Grasshopper, Brandy Alexander, White Russian, Hot Buttered Rum, and Pisco Sour.


You should know that a lot of bars don’t allow the use of raw eggs due to salmonella.

 

 

Carbonated Mixes

 


Cola, diet cola, soda water (also called seltzer and club soda), tonic water, gingerale, ginger beer, Perrier, Pellegrino, Champagne, sparkling wine, beer, and lemon-lime soda such as sprite or 7up.


Some common carbonated mix drink are; Bourbon & Coke, Rum & Coke, 7&7, Presbyterian, Vodka Tonic, Gin & Tonic, Moscow Mule, and Shandy.

 

 

H20 Mixes

 

 

Coffee, espresso, tea, hot water, and ice.


Ice is a very important part of a drink and it’s important to use fresh clean ice at all times. Bar ice cubes/drink making ice cubes should be smallish, contoured, solid, and smooth with no dips or holes and made with a machine that has a filter to keep the ice from tasting and smelling funky. This will affect the taste of a cocktail greatly. Personally, I would have a chlorinated filter added as well because public water is filled with a ton of chlorine. Sadly, I have not yet in my bartending career gotten to work a bar with awesome drink making ice. The problem is that most bars are sharing the same ice machine as the kitchen. Kitchen ice is normally chunky because they need it to last longer and melt slower for displays, buffets, and packing. This ice drives a bartender crazy when trying to pour a spirit into it because it will bounce it back out of the glass.


Water is also a key ingredient in cocktails. A shaken drink is melting the ice and adding necessary water to the cocktail.


If you’re ever asked to make an iced coffee with alcohol added then pour the coffee over ice then into another glass of ice, because the first glass of ice will melt.


Some common H20 mix drink are: Irish Coffee, Keoke Coffee (key-O-key), and Hot Toddy.

 

 

Dry Mixes

 


Sugar, brown sugar, raw sugar, powdered sugar, sugar cube, salt, celery salt, chili pepper, cayenne pepper, white pepper, cocoa powder, cloves, cinnamon, spicy seasonings, powdered hot chocolate, and powdered apple cider.

 

 

Novelty Mixes

 


Red Bull, Jell-O, Mountain Dew, Kool-Aid, Gatorade, flavored colas, Yoo-Hoo, Fresca, and food coloring.