1. The balance
The 3 S golden rule when making cocktails : Sweet, sour and Strong.
SWEET
Sugar is essential in a drink as it enhances the natural aromas. It is brought by syrups or liqueurs. Thanks to the wide range of MONIN syrups and liqueurs you can let your imagination wander and create huge possibilities of flavour associations from the most classic ones to the most originals.
SOUR
At the time of the old classics like the Margarita, Daiquiri and Blue Lagoon. The sour taste was brought by the lemon juice and sometimes by orange juice as those were the only juices available behind the bar. The lemon juice also helped to have a long lasting taste, it was used to bind the sugar with the alcohol, and helped to balance and sublimate the cocktails. Today a lot of other types of juices are available to bring this sour touch.
STRONG
Spirits will be the last ingrediens used to have an homogeneous mix. However one has to be carefull as some spirits will not mix well with some ingredients. The spirit also helps to balance the sugar content brought by the juices and the syrups. The more you will know about the spririt's components and origins, the easier it will be for you to imagine the possible associations.
2. Texture
The texture of your cocktail is important and often make them fall into different categories : fancy drink, before/ after dinner or dessert drinks. The texture is brought by a long list of ingredients such as fresh cream, yogurt, milk, soja milk, cottage cheese, egg, ice cream or sorbet, honey, jam, fruit purées, but of course also blended and muddled fruits and veggies. And of course MONIN products through the various ranges of syrups, sauces, liqueurs, fruit smoothie and cocktail mixes...
3. Combine and associate ingredients
a. Follow what the nature does
Mixing fruits, juices, and spirits of similar origin is often a winning choice. Try mixing rum with tropical fruits like passion fruit, coconut, banana, lime, pineapple or guava. Orchard fruit such as apples, pears, apricots, cherry plum will mix well, and so will the red fruits.
b. The bartender is a drinks chemical engineer
Knowing the composition of your ingredients will help you to make better mixes. For instance, gin may have some floral and spicy notes, lemon zest, cucumber peel, angelica roots, rose petal and saffron notes for some will mix weel with MONIN syrups such as Cinnamon, Rose, Frosted Mint, Cucumber and Jasmine.
c. The bartender can be a pastry cook
Here is another means to find nice ideas of combinations : find your inspiration from desserts and chocolates. Create the liquid version of your favorite dessert like the Ispahan Macaroon created by famous pastry chef Pierre Hermé which is a rose-raspberry-litchi macaroon. For this you will just need to use MONIN Rose and Macaroon syrups combined with MONIN Lychee liqueur, a lemon zest, and soda water for a resfreshing drink. Find inspiration in the chocolate bestsellers such as dessert drinks combining MONIN Dark chocolate sauce with MONIN Tangerine syrup and a bit of vodka which will balance the drink and keep a gourmet velvet taste.
