How do you muddle a drink

You have to control the pressure you're exerting in a way that the juice of the fruit is extracted well but not crushing the mint leaves. If you have time, you can also muddle the ingredients one by one by starting with the hard ingredients, then adding on the delicate ones.

Lime is less tricky to muddle than mint leaves, but you have to put some muscle on it. Cut the lime into wedges or quarters then place them into the glass. Press the muddler on them to extract the juices. You can either do the twisting motion or not. A mojito calls for mint leaves, lime wedges and sugar to be muddled together. First, place the mint leaves directly into a highball glass, followed by the sugar and the lime wedges.

Place the orange slices flat in a glass. You can use a muddler with teeth to fully press the pulps and extract as much juice as possible. But, when you get to the peel, apply a light pressure so as to not release a bitter taste. You only need the essential oils from the peel. Use cranberries that are ripe so it would not be hard to muddle them.

You can use a muddler with or without the teeth for this. Press the cranberries just enough to split them in half and to help them out, they can be muddled together with a liquid-like lime juice or simple syrup. Aside from citrus fruits, berries are also famous for being muddled in cocktails.

They are the easiest ones to muddle because they are generally soft. You can simply use a flat end muddler and press and twist on the fruit times only, this is ideal for raspberries, blueberries and blackberries.

A muddler is an essential bar tool designed to smash and mix called muddling drink ingredients. Essentially, a bartender's pestle, using a muddler is one of the best ways to infuse the flavor of fresh fruits and herbs into your drinks. It's easy to learn how to muddle, and this basic technique will let you mix several popular cocktails, including the caipirinha , mojito , and old-fashioned. Muddlers are long, thick sticks, which is why muddled cocktails are also called stick drinks.

They come in a variety of materials, though most are about the same size and basic design. Similar in shape to a long pestle or miniature bat, the top of a muddler is frequently rounded so you can hold it in your palm.

It tapers to a broader flat bottom that sometimes has teeth. Muddlers are typically six to eight inches long and about one inch in diameter. It's the perfect size to reach the bottom of the average glass or cocktail shaker. In general, you will find muddlers made out of three different materials: wood, plastic, and stainless steel.

Wood muddlers are the classic choice and most popular material. They come in two basic shapes: one looks like a miniature baseball bat with a flat bottom, and the other is straight, similar in design to a windchime.

These are often preferred by bartenders because they get the job done quickly and are very durable, so they last for years. As a bonus, wood muddlers are helpful for other things like cracking ice cubes into smaller pieces. The drawback is that wood is organic, so these muddlers require a little extra care:. Next, contemplate your muddler. You can use a variety of items to muddle a drink; there's no actual need to go out and buy a muddler. The handle of a rolling pin will do in a pinch.

If you do buy a muddler, be careful what you buy. You want a muddler that has not been varnished or lacquered. The varnish on a muddler will eventually wear off, and where will it wind up? So choose a muddler made of unvarnished wood. Other types are made of stainless steel with a plastic or hard-rubber muddling base, and those are fine too. But avoid the type with teeth on the end; they're great for muddling the juice and oils from fruit, but they can cause you to shred the leaves of mint and other herbs.

With those warnings behind us, the question now is, what's the right way to muddle? This article was co-authored by Kady Richardson. Kady has completed the Comprehensive Bartending Training Program at The Cocktail Camp in San Francisco and specializes in creating approachable, at-home recipes for cocktails. There are 7 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been viewed , times.

Muddling is a bartender's technique for releasing flavor from solid cocktail ingredients. The basic idea is as simple as crushing the fruit or herb, but there are devils in the details ready to make your cocktail bitter or unpleasant.

Learn how to do it the right way, and you won't have to muddle through on your own intuition. To muddle soft herbs like mint for a cocktail, use a small wooden tool with a flat end, such as the end of a wooden spoon. First, put the herbs in a sturdy glass. Press down with the wooden tool and twist your wrist lightly so the herbs are crushed. Once the leaves are lightly bruised and you can smell the herbs, add them to the rest of the cocktail ingredients. Did this summary help you? Yes No. Log in Social login does not work in incognito and private browsers.

Please log in with your username or email to continue. No account yet? Create an account. Edit this Article. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. By using our site, you agree to our cookie policy.

Cookie Settings. Learn why people trust wikiHow. Download Article Explore this Article methods. Tips and Warnings. Things You'll Need. Related Articles. Article Summary. Method 1. Choose a gentle muddling tool. A small, flat wooden tool is ideal, such as the end of a wooden spoon or a French rolling pin without handles. Plastic or hard rubber tools will also work, but require a delicate touch. Avoid muddlers with teeth, since these tear up the leaves too much.