Tristan Stephenson

In the UK the drink of the last decade has without doubt been the Mojito.

I'm not convinced that it would work that well, but Yergacheffe springs to mind as it sometimes tastes a little like peaches and cheese.

I've done comparisons between fresh citrus, 20mins, 40mins, 1 hour and 2 hours old, before. From my findings it degrades from the moment you juice it.

One of these OXO Mini measuring cups perhaps? I have two - one plastic and one stainess steel. They are definitely what I use for recipe development. After the recipe is tweaked to it's final form, then I switch to jiggers at the bar. I've seen these OXO jiggers at various gourmet supply shops, hardware stores and department store housewares departments. Not too hard to find and they're all over online as well. ← That's the one! - Thanks for the link. He was using the plastic one, which I suppose doesn't look as nice, but you can see through it.

Yeh, i've seen wine in 'orange juice' style cartons a few times. I can see the advantages environmentally and financially, but I would imagine less people will buy it simply because they can't see the product swirling around.

Back when I was bartending (I'm now a trainer), I very much encouraged the development and evolution of cocktails by trying different spirits and different brands. Excellent cocktails very rarely appear out of thin air, they are worked upon and given space to flourish. Of course you need to be working at an establishment that encourages that sort of behaviour, but as Samuel rightly says - the best bars will always inspire their staff to nurture their creations. I went round to Simon Difford's (blatant name check) a couple of months ago and he was busy developing a drink. With about six subtle iterations sat on the front of the bar he was able to check every variation and adjust accordingly... and no, he didn't use a jigger... Simon had a much more precise tapered measuring cup that I would really like to get hold of myself!

I usually find that the beer from a specific country matches quite nicely with the cuisine from that same country. Nastro Azzuro for example is great with cured meats and cheese. One exception for me is Innis & Gunn (Scottish) which has a great sherry flavour to it, goes brilliantly with Spanish tapas etc.

I agree with that to a certain extent. I think it's nice if different bartenders have a different take on a drink, giving them the chance to engage the customer and discuss how they would like their cocktail. At the end of the day though, there are certain drinks which have very little area for adjustment in my opinion. A daiquiri for example is a pretty subtle balance, free"juicing" 12.5ml of lime juice and freepouring half that in gomme is not easy, but get it wrong and the drink will be off balance rather than unique. I have a background of working in restaurant bars, which is a lot different to a service bar. You work more like a liquid chef simply because there is no direct interaction between the bartender and customer - consistency is very important. That is consistency between your own drinks, but also between individual bartenders. If a customer is receiving a different tasting, different colour, differently garnished drink every time, they're going to be wondering what is going on. I also think that even working with jiggers still allows for some creative flair. Just because a full one is 25ml (or 1oz) doesn't mean that you have to pour 25ml, but at least you know when you are or you aren't.

I'm just trying to get hold a digital thermometer with 1/10 degree accuracy. It'll be interesting to see the dilution ratios and temperatures of liquids prepared and served in different ways. How geeky.

Freepouring is generally frowned upon by the bartending elite in the UK. The 5ml barspoon example says it all. We all use jiggers to measure spirits and it really has nothing to do with showmanship, just that it is the best and most efficient way to get a balanced drink.

Wassail (like mulled cider) is a must for winter.

I've used the Chaberyzette to make a martini before, really nice in the summer as it adds a touch of fruit to the drink... and of course a hint of pink.

Hi guys, On the salt thing. I remember an old bartenders trick was to add salt to tonic water, resulting in the tonic actually tasting sweeter. Bizarre, but as already stated, it has something to do with diverting your taste away from bitterness - quinine in the case of tonic. Whether it works universally with bitter drinks is another question, but i've got the espresso machine warming up, so will give it a go in coffee myself. paulraphael, seperation in the vessel is quite common, simply because lighter solubles will tend to float, and heavier ones sink. Best thing to do is use a smaller pot, or pour out two or three cups a little bit at a time, so that the contents of the pot are evenly distributed , top to bottom.