At Diving & Chillin’ we take our drinkskultur pretty seriously. After all, life is too short for crappy cocktails and it’s really not that demanding to bring your game to near olympian levels. It’s time to raise your post diving drinks from mere refreshments to potions worthy of being entered in your logbook. Now there’s a thought.

So you’ve read the previous two posts about our drinkskultur and you’re ready to make your own mixing mark in the world. Please accept a few last crumbs of advice to light your way on that journey.  And in the future, should you ever come across a young padawanabee quality drinker, it will be on you to stir them in the right direction.

Taste yo shit!

Don’t know the difference between orgeat and cane syrup? Peychaud’s and Angostura?  Well all you need to do is TASTE YO SHIT! Make it a habit, know all your ingredients. Have a few drops of the different bitters you hoard, of the vermouths you use and of your different rums. I’m not talking a pint of white rum or a cupful of bitters, but a few drops or a teaspoonful. You know to put dry vermouth in your martinis, but how does the vermouth taste by itself? Try. It will give you a hint of what it brings to the drink, and of course encourage you to maybe seek out other vermouths, ’cause they’re not all created equal, so you can find the one that you prefer. Same goes for all the components of your cocktail, even the syrups and cherries.

Measure yo shit!

You might think you can count mississippis as ounces when you pour but you can’t. The jigger is your best friend. Find one with quarter ounce and half ounce marks and you are golden. It’s okay to pay a bit more for it, they are indestructible, and if you’re metric minded get a beaker.

A word about using bitters in your drinks, less really is more. If you think you haven’t put enough, you really have. Don’t be tempted to add that extra dash. The true artistry of mixing is not found in rare ingredients, it’s found in perfect proportions.

Fewer ingredients.

This is almost a philosophical position, a very personal preference, so feel free to disregard it, but ever noticed what all the original classics have in common? Just a few ingredients. Threesomes and foursomes are classics, after that it becomes an orgy, and like with all orgies there’s always something going limp or bored in a corner. Sure there are a few notable exceptions to this rule, mainly hailing from the bamboo bars and faux polynesian tumblers, but even then it can be disputed how interesting those drinks are (in terms of flavours, as to the overall experience tiki is dear to our hearts, in a hipster hipster’s sort of way). Invariably, when too many things are flopping about in your mouth, it easily becomes an indistinct writhing mass of tastes. When in doubt about mixing something on the fly, always stick with the holy trinity of  booze, citrus and sugar. A long island ice tea is not a cocktail, it’s someone making room in their bar.

Use a strainer.

No matter if my shaker(s) come with a built in strainer or not, I prefer to use a separate one.  Few shakers are truly well designed (hint, the simpler the better, use two tins or what is called a French shaker), and so they tend to create ice dams when you pour. This keeps your precious liquids mingling too long with the ice and your drink ends up watered down. A separate strainer keeps the exit free and fast flowing. You’re on vacation and don’t have your gear? Two glasses can become your shaker and a slotted spoon your strainer. Go ahead, make MacGyver proud.

Garnish! Make your drink pretty!

A drink is about the complete experience. It’s about engaging the drinker, it’s about attention to detail, it’s about the fun. That lemon twist, that cherry, or that paper umbrella bring your drink to another realm. You elevate the drinker’s the mood before they take the first sip.

That’s what it’s all about, for me anyways, to raise the moment beyond the mere material and mundane. I’m sure you can find your zen moment even in making jello shots.

So here’s to your safe travels, your rewarding boozy experiences, and your ever expanding horizons.