Some cocktails call for you to muddle ingredients before you build the rest of the cocktail. Muddling is easy! The purpose of muddling is to release the oils, juice (for citrus and fruit) and aromatics of your muddled ingredients. Let's muddle some citrus!
Cut your limes or other citrus fruit into wedges or other small pieces, leaving the skin on.
To properly muddle citrus, you want to put some muscle into it, because you are trying to get both the juice from the lime, as well as the oils in the skin.
Press down firmly until you see juice being released and oils on top. It should also smell super fragrant and bright.
Build the rest of your cocktail, per the recipe, from here :)
Let's muddle some herbs!
Unlike muddling citrus, herbs are much more delicate. Too much friction releases the plant’s bitter chlorophyll stored in the veins of the leaves. You don't want to crush or break these herbs which will create bitter and grassy flavors.
Add a few leaves or sprigs of herbs. Add a small amount of the called for syrup or liquid from the recipe card to buffer the impact of the muddling.
Simply press down gently one or two times to gently release the oils and aroma.
Build the rest of your cocktail, as per the recipe, from here. :)
tips for muddled cocktails
We like a nice wooden muddler for herbs as the gentle, rounded edge is not too impactful for the delicate leaves (stay away from the toothy plastic muddlers that will mash them instead).
Cocktails that call for muddling can usually benefit from double-straining to collect any fine particles of the muddled ingredients (seeds for fruit, spice fragments, leaves). Simply strain once through your Hawthorne Strainer or Cobbler Shaker top, and pour into a fine mesh strainer before the double-strained cocktail hits the serving glassware. To see this is in action, check out our Double Straining Video!
