1954 Practical Bar Management by Eddie Clarke

EIGHT

The Art of Mixing

There is not in life a pleasure so sweet, As to sit near a window and tilt up yourfeet, To puffa Havana whoseflavourjust suits. And gaze at the world through the toes ofyour boots. Many a poor, misguided individual thinks that the art of mixing a cocktail is to reach for any bottles that happen to be near at hand(and the more there are the merrier it will be),then pour liberally some of the contents from each into a shaker, and after achieving several acrobatical antics in shaking, the devilish brew is served to some innocent and unsuspecting human. Happily such a person is not allowed to run amok behind a Cock tail Bar, otherwise life would become fairly hazardous for the adventurer who is going through the initiation stages of cocktail drinking. Professionally, the blending of drinks is a very skilled craft, and the"Artist of Blends"will accomplish his work with the same proficiency and thoroughness as a chef who compounds and spices his sauces—or a famous painter, who carefully mixes his colours before producing a masterpiece. So, too, let there be harmony in cocktails and achieve the perfect blend whereby no ingredient is predominant to the palate, so leaving the drinker to ponder on what hidden mysteries it withholds. On the other hand, don't strike a discord by mixing a conglomeration of spirits and liqueurs each doing battle against the other. For instance, can one imagine what such a mixture as the following would taste like, commencing with a rum base and throwing in equal parts of Apricot Brandy, Orange Curagao, Creme de Cacao, Creme de Menthe, and Italian Vermouth ? Don't bother to sample it— mix it if you will—but pour it quickly down the sink. Suppose, instead of learning the hard way and ruining our health, we do the thing in theory, and sort out the fundamental requirements of a good cocktail before committing ourselves to the use of the shaker.

71