5 tips for successful cocktails

A cocktail party with friends always has its effect, and does not necessarily require a master's degree in mixology. However, there are tips to make the tasting of your cocktails even better, and surprise your guests. Christophe Jumentier, mixologist and founder of the Heads & Legs agency, gives you his 5 tips for successful cocktails at home.

1/ Ingredients

First of all, it is essential to look at the basis of the cocktail: the ingredients.
Choose ingredients that appeal to you and that make sense to you.

First select a base spirit that you like and which will be the body of your cocktail: liqueur, eau-de-vie, gin, rum, whisky, tequila, mezcal, calvados, cognac, etc. it doesn't matter as long as you like it! For example, you can choose to use a genepi or a Meunier gin that you can get here or from our partner distributors.

For the rest, choose the ingredients according to your desire of the moment: tangy, sweet, spicy, full-bodied, etc. The adjuvants (juices, bitters, liqueurs, soda, syrups, spices, etc.) are countless and all unique. Take the time to taste them before mixing them.

Tip: prefer fresh squeezed juices (be careful to wash them well if they are not organic) to bottled juices when possible. Pay particular attention to the freshness and quality of the different elements of your cocktail.

Remember, the better the ingredients, the tastier the cocktail will be.

2/ The complexity of recipes

To make a good cocktail, it is not necessary to choose a very complex recipe. A cocktail that contains between 2 and 4 ingredients will be ideal to satisfy your guests without taking any risks during its preparation.

Indeed, a cocktail containing too many ingredients is often too rich in flavors, unbalanced and above all very laborious to make.

A good cocktail is a simple and reproducible cocktail!

3/ Ice

Ice is essential for the elaboration of a good cocktail, although often too neglected. It is used to refresh the cocktail, promote the emulsion and the dilution of the ingredients.

For a very cold cocktail, chill the glass before preparing the cocktail with a large quantity of ice, or simply place it in the freezer.

This will keep your cocktail cooler for longer, when you pour in your various ingredients and spirits afterwards.

Tip: for quality ice, boil your water beforehand to demineralize it, or buy blocks of ice directly from the supermarket. Avoid freezing unfiltered tap water.

4/ Tools

To make delicious cocktails at home, two utensils are essential:

- A or jigger: it allows you to correctly dose the different ingredients of the cocktail.
- A mixing spoon: it allows you to stir the ingredients of the cocktail by reaching the bottom of the glass.

For the development of more technical cocktails, the shaker with strainer will then be essential to stir the different ingredients and create an emulsion.

5/ Garnish

The final element of a cocktail, the garnish gives an aesthetic touch to your cocktail. The ideal is to use the remains of the ingredients used for the cocktail: lemon zest or citrus slices for example.

The filling must be simple, elegant and delicate.

Tip: use a very good knife to finely cut the elements of your filling!

Bonus : Enjoy yourself !

Cocktails are made for convivial and warm moments, so don't forget to toast with a smile!

And if you lack inspiration, we offer you various very simple recipes for genepi cocktails on our website: go here.