Cocktails

Cocktails are alcoholic drinks built on a mixture of spirits with flavourings and other ingredients — juices, syrups, bitters, liqueurs, carbonated mixers. They span from terse classics of two or three components to elaborate tropical constructions. In food service, quality rests on standardized recipes, measured pours, fresh ingredients, and scrupulous hygiene of ice, garnishes, and glassware. The rise of low- and no-alcohol versions has extended the format to mindful drinkers. However mixed, a cocktail is a small exercise in balance, where proportion decides everything.