Friday, October 8, 2010

Lesson 12: Sweet and Sour Based Drinks

Hello everyone! Welcome back to Free Online Bartending School. A great way to learn about bartending for free on the web.

In this lesson, we will go over Sweet and Sour based cocktails.


Sweet and sour was discussed back in Lesson 3, Bartender's Mixes. Sweet and Sour is basically a substitute for lemon juice and sugar syrup (simple syrup) that bartenders in the past used. (As a note, some high end bars still use lemon juice and sugar syrup.)


However in the present day, the practice of mixing lemon juice and sugar have become rare. Lemon juice has the tendency to spoil, and sugar syrup is tedious to make. In addition there cost issues when using fresh lemons. It is also easy to mix the two poorly, which will create a cocktail that's either too sweet or too sour.

In order to avoid all this hassle, bartenders now use a sweet and sour mix. Sweet and sour mix is probably the most used mix that you'll use as a bartender. You use a sweet and sour mix to make all sorts of cocktails ranging from a Midori Sour, Margarita, to a Long Island Ice Tea. It is an extremely versatile mix.

Sweet and sour has a tangy, sweet taste. It has the tendency to become foamy as you shake it in a cocktail shaker which helps to make a pleasant cocktail.

A nice point to note is that sweet and sour based drinks are usually party favorites. They are extremely simple to mix - Midori & Sour mix for a Midori Sour - but they taste great. Girls like to drink it, and it is easy to get people drunk with. So next time you plan a party, try using the recipes from this lesson. You'll probably have a really nice party.


All that being said, here are a few videos on how to make some great cocktails the margarita and the Long Island Ice Tea.


The guy in this video makes a great margarita. I like to use the lime like he does with a lime juicer. However, I use the standard recipe shown in the section below with the squeeze of lime, and without the sugar. It's so good that I used to always get my customers to get second and third rounds.



This is a nice little video on how to make the Long Island Ice Tea. Very simple and straight forward. Notice that she doesn't use any tequila in her mix as it is optional.

All right, now comes the memorizing part. Be sure you memorize all the recipes here as well as all the glasses that you'll serve them in.

Sweet and Sour Based Cocktail Recipes

Whiskey Sour
1 oz. Whiskey
2 oz. Sweet and Sour
Garnish with a Cherry
Serve in Rocks Glass

Midori Sour
1 oz. Midori
2 oz. Sweet and Sour
Garnish with a Cherry
Serve in Rocks Glass

Amaretto Sour
1 oz. Amaretto
2 oz. Sweet and Sour
Garnish with a Cherry
Serve in Rocks Glass


Long Island Ice Tea
1/2 oz. Vodka
1/2 oz. Gin
1/2 oz. Tequila (Optional)
1/2 oz. Triple Sec
1/2 oz. Rum
1 1/2 oz. Sweet and Sour
Shake
Splash of Coke
Garnish with a Lemon Twist
Serve in Collins Glass

Electric Ice Tea
1/2 oz. Vodka
1/2 oz. Gin
1/2 oz. Tequila
1/2 oz. Blue Curacao
1/2 oz. Rum
1 1/2 oz. Sweet and Sour
Shake
Splash of 7 Up
Garnish with a Lemon Twist
Serve in Collins Glass

Adios Mother Fucker
1 oz. Vodka
1 oz. Gin
1 oz. Tequila
1 oz. Blue Curacao
1 oz. Rum
1 1/2 oz. Sweet and Sour
Shake
Splash of 7 Up
Garnish with a Twist
Serve in Collins Glass


Long Beach Ice Tea (Boston Ice Tea)
1/2 oz. Vodka
1/2 oz. Gin
1/2 oz. Tequila
1/2 oz. Blue Curacao
1/2 oz. Rum
1 1/2 oz. Sweet and Sour
Shake
Splash of Cranberry Juice
Garnish with a Lemon Twist
Serve in Collins Glass

Singapore Sling
1/2 oz. Grenadine
1 oz. Gin
1/2 oz. Tequila
2 oz. Sweet and Sour
Shake
Fill with Soda
Top with 1/2 oz. Cherry Brandy
Garnish with Cherry
Serve in Collins Glass


Vodka Collins
1 oz. Vodka
2 oz. Sweet and Sour
Shake
Fill with Soda
Garnish with Cherry
Serve in Collins Glass

Tom Collins
1 oz. Gin
2 oz. Sweet and Sour
Shake
Fill with Soda
Garnish with Cherry
Serve in Collins Glass


John Collins
1 oz. Whiskey
2 oz. Sweet and Sour
Shake
Fill with Soda
Garnish with Cherry
Serve in Collins Glass

Joe Collins
1 oz. Scotch
2 oz. Sweet and Sour
Shake
Fill with Soda
Garnish with Cherry
Serve in Collins Glass

Mai Tai
1 oz. Light Rum
1/2 oz. Triple Sec
1 1/2 oz. Sweet and Sour
Splash of Pinapple Juice
Shake and Pour
Float 1/2 oz. of Myer's Dark Rum
Garnish with Cherry
Serve in Hurricane glass


Zombie
1 oz. Light Rum
1 oz. Dark Rum
1/2 oz. Triple Sec
1/2 oz. Creme de Almond
1 oz. Orange Juice
1 oz. Sweet and Sour
Splash of Pinapple Juice
Shake and Pour
Float 1/2 oz. of Bacardi 151 Rum
Garnish with Cherry
Serve in Hurricane glass

Daiquiri
1 oz. Light Rum
1/2 oz. Triple Sec
2 oz. Sweet and Sour

Strawberry Daiquiri
1 oz. Light Rum
1/2 oz. Triple Sec
2 oz. Sweet and Sour
Frozen Strawberry Daiquiri Mix (Or Island Oasis Mix)
Blend with Ice


Margarita
1 oz. Tequila
1/2 oz. Triple Sec
1 1/2 oz. Sweet and Sour
Squeeze of 1/4 to 1/2 Lime
Garnish with a Lime
Rim glass with Salt if asked
Serve in a Margarita Glass


Blue Margarita
1 oz. Tequila
1/2 oz. Blue Curacao
1 1/2 oz. Sweet and Sour
Garnish with a Lime
Rim glass with Salt
Margarita Glass


All right, so as always, I'm going to recommend that you go out and actually try making these cocktails. Practice makes perfect, and if you like the cocktails that you make, I am sure your customers will too.

Good luck studying and until next time, Cheers!



4 comments:

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