Mixing Perfection

Mixing Perfection

Decades ago, I couldn’t make a decent cocktail. No matter how closely I followed a recipe, it never tasted as good as the ones at restaurants—or the ones my husband made. I’d always end up handing him my drink and saying, “Can you fix this?” He’d add more liquor, and suddenly—it was good.

That’s when I realized: balance is everything. For me, the key to a great cocktail is in the tasting—not too sweet, not too tart.

I started testing recipes with my husband. I’d mix a drink, we’d both taste, and I’d adjust. But we quickly hit a limit: with just the two of us sampling, we’d get tipsy long before we could test enough variations. And there was no way I was throwing out a cocktail!

Next, I tried small-scale mixing using tablespoons instead of ounces. It seemed like a good idea—until I scaled the recipe back up. It just didn’t taste the same. Tablespoons, it turns out, are unreliable for cocktails.

Finally, I found the answer.

I narrowed down my ingredient list and started hosting tasting parties with three friends. I set up my kitchen island with everything we needed—spirits, mixers, shaker, glasses, ice, and a notebook. I mixed one drink, split it four ways, and we each gave feedback. I made adjustments and we tried again. And again. We kept going until everyone exclaimed, “This is the one!”.

Some recipes were fine, some were clearly off, but when we got it right, we all felt it.

That perfect cocktail? It's all about balance—and now, you get to enjoy it too.