Shaken or Stirred: Learn the essential skills of mixology
This past Thursday evening we had our first mixology class with Mercer Island local Scarlett (Lisa) Fairman, owner of Scarlett Event. Throughout the evening Scarlett shared a bit about the history of spirits and mixed cocktails, demonstrated how to make five classic cocktails and gave guests tips and tricks for bartending at home.
Guests were welcomed with freshly mixed Palomas to sip on while they met other attendees and mingled. We snacked on watermelon skewers with mint and tajin, goat cheese toast points and heaped hummus with Mediterranean veggies. **To elevate your Paloma at home we recommend using a citrus salted rim, dried grapefruit slices and lime slice infused ice cubes.
Scarlett began the evening by sharing a little information about herself and how she started her company, Scarlett Event. She shared a brief overview of the history of cocktails and discussed the essential ingredients that that all home bars should include in order to be fully stocked.
Scarlett mixed up five classic cocktails throughout our evening. These consisted of the Martini (dirty and with a twist), a Margarita, a blackberry Mojito, an Old Fashioned and a Paloma. Scarlett discussed the recommended ingredients, and the appropriate measurements and then demonstrated proper mixing techniques for each (ex. when to shake and when to stir. If you add soda water do not shake it once added! Stir!). Attendees got to taste samples of each cocktail to decide which was their favorite.
Elevate your cocktails:
Square ice molds: we’re currently obsessed with our oversized square silicone ice molds. You can add slices of citrus, mint leaves or even edible flowers to instantly upgrade any cocktail or mocktail. If you’ve been to one of our recent events you’ve probably seen these in action.
Old Fashioned: use bourbon soaked cherries instead of maraschino. These little guys add a magical touch to your cocktail and are definitely worth the splurge! Try using a little of the cherry juice from the jar to sweeten your drink instead of sugar/ simple syrup.
Martini: make your own blue cheese stuffed olives to level up your martini at home. Buy pre-pitted olives and you can whip these up in a flash. Shake your martini to get it extra cold! Are you a fan of dirty or filthy martinis? Big John’s PFI in Seattle will sell containers of olive juice from their olive bar (yay no more sad and dry olives in your fridge).
Margarita: always use fresh limes or citrus. You can bulk batch this and keep it in your fridge. You’ll average 1/2-1 lime per margarita. Scarlett prefers using Agave as the sweetener in all of her tequila based cocktails.
Mojito: don’t shake it - use a muddler to infuse all that mint and lime flavor! If you’re making a handful of drinks you can muddle one large batch in a bowl rather than a shaker!
Scarlett’s mixology tips and tricks:
Be careful with the amount of sugar you use in your cocktails. Sugar is often what makes people feel sick after an evening out, rather than the spirits themselves. Agave is a great sweetener substitute. And remember - the higher the quality of liquor you use, the less sugar you need.
When zesting citrus as a garnish always zest over your cocktail glass. This will help catch some of that flavorful oil that’s trapped inside the peel.
You can taste your cocktail before serving it by using a straw. Simply stick the straw in your mixture, place your finger over the top of the straw and remove a sip! This is an easy no-contact way to be sure your drink is to your liking before serving!
Try making infused liquor at home. You can pour it over ice, add a little soda water and voila - a craft cocktail at home! Making infused liquor is simple. Add your produce of choice to a mason jar (we love combining vodka and blackberries or tequila and peppers) and then pour a 750 ml liquor bottle of choice over the produce. Screw on the lid and let it sit for 3-7 days until it reaches your desired flavor (you’ll notice the color will darken). You can shake and macerate the mixture periodically to help release flavor. Strain your mixture and then refrigerate for up to one month.
Heaped Hummus:
Looking for a super easy appetizer to throw together and impress your guests? We’ve got you covered!
Ingredients: 4 large pitas, toasted, cut into wedges, 2 cups prepared hummus (from this recipe, your favorite recipe, or your favorite brand), olive oil, 1 1/2 cups (8 ounces or 225 grams) cherry tomatoes, chopped small, plus more to taste, 8 ounces (225 grams) small cucumbers, washed, unpeeled, chopped small, 1/4 medium red onion, chopped small, juice of half a lemon, salt and freshly ground black pepper, sumac and/or za’atar (*optional - We used our Middle Eastern Spice rub- the recipe can be found on our Summer Grilling blog page), 1 to 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley, or a mix of parsley, mint, and chives, plus more for garnish.
Directions: Spread hummus on a large plate with the back of a spoon, creating swirls and cavities. Drizzle it lightly with olive oil, just to freshen it up. Mix tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, lemon, about 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, plus salt and pepper to taste in a bowl. If you have sumac, add about 1/4 teaspoon. Stir in herbs. Heap salad on hummus, arrange pita wedges all around. Finish with additional za’atar, sumac, and/or fresh herbs.
Thanks #smittenkitchen for this delicious recipe!
Stock Your Bar:
You don’t need a ton of ingredients to stock your bar like a pro and impress your guests. Scarlett recommends having the following items on hand:
Liquors: Vodka (we love Tito’s which also happens to be gluten free), Tequila (Casamigas Blano is great for sipping or mixing), Bourbon or Whisky (Bulleit is our fav), Gin (Hendricks isn’t too juniper heavy!), white Dry Vermouth, red Vermouth
Tools: stir spoon, peeler and/or citrus twist peeler, citrus squeezer, cocktail shaker
Other: bitters, simple syrup and/or agave, jar of olives, Bourbon infused cherries, any citrus fruits on hand (limes, lemons, oranges, grapefruit, etc.)
“Using bourbon soaked cherries in your Old Fashioned will make a huge difference. It takes it over the top!”
Each attendee went home with their own jigger (measuring ingredients ensures a balanced cocktail), dried citrus rounds (product link below), citrus rimming salt (also linked below-yum yum!), five classic cocktail recipes cards, and a mason jar (useful for shaking those cocktails if you don’t have a professional shaker).
Below you’ll find the full recipes for each cocktail that Scarlett mixed up during our event. Remember to have fun and adjust ingredients to your taste!
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2 oz tequila blanco
½ oz orange liqueur or triple sec
1 lime squeezed
½ oz agave syrup
Lime wedge or wheel
Coarse kosher salt
Prep your glasses: run a lime wedge around the rim and then dip the rim in coarse kosher salt. Set the glass aside until ready to use.
Combine the ingredients in a cocktail shaker: combine the tequila, lime juice, orange liqueur, and a few ice cubes in a cocktail shaker (if you do not have a cocktail shaker, you can shake them together in a mason jar).
Shake shake shake: shake for about 10 seconds or until chilled.
Taste and add sweetener, if desired: give the margarita mix a taste and if you think it needs extra sweetener, add in a teaspoon or two of agave (or simple syrup) at a time until the mix reaches your desired level of sweetness.
Strain and serve on the rocks: place a few ice cubes (or one large ice cube so that it will melt more slowly) in the serving glass, then strain the margarita mix over the ice and garnish with a slice of lime.
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2 ¼ oz vodka or gin
1 oz white vermouth
Lemon twist or olives (add a splash of olive juice for a dirty martini)
Combine: combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker or mason jar, along with a handful of ice, then cover and shake until chilled.
Strain and serve: strain into a chilled cocktail glass (martini glasses are traditional) and garnish with a lemon twist (rubbed around the rim of the glass first) or speared olives.
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1 ½ oz white rum
1-2 oz simple syrup/ sweetener (or less to taste)
Fresh squeezed lime
6 fresh mint leaves
Soda water
Blackberries/ seasonal fruit (*optional)
Muddle your mint: combine your mint, blackberries, rum, lime juice, and sweetener in a cocktail shaker. Then use a cocktail muddler to gently muddle the mint a bit so that those fresh minty flavors get released (avoid muddling the mint so much that it breaks up into tons of pieces).
Shake with ice: add ice to the cocktail shaker, then cover and give it a good vigorous shake for about 15 seconds until chilled.
Strain, then top with club soda: strain the mixture into a tall glass filled with ice, being sure that an inch or so is left at the top of the glass. Top off with club soda.
Serve: garnish with lots of extra fresh mint, additional seasonal fruit and lime, if desired.
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2 oz bourbon
Sugar cube or ½ oz simple syrup (or cherry juice)
2 dashes bitters (angostura)
Orange peel (optional*)
Cherries (luxardo/maraschino – bourbon-soaked cherries preferred)
Muddle the sugar: if you’re going the classic sugar cube route, add it to a lowball glass, top with a splash of water and bitters, and use a muddler (or the end of a wooden spoon) to muddle and stir the mixture until the sugar is nearly dissolved. If you’re using a liquid sweetener such as simple syrup, you can skip this step and stir the sweetener and bitters directly into the bourbon.
Mix: add the bourbon and a large ice cube. Stir vigorously for 10 seconds or until the liquid is chilled.
Garnish: add a maraschino cherry or two. Gently twist the orange peel* directly over the glass, in order to express its oil, then drop the orange peel into the glass.
Serve: serve immediately and enjoy!
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2 oz tequila
Club soda or plain sparkling water
Splash of grapefruit juice
Squeeze of lime
Agave syrup if needed
Garnish: grapefruit peel, freeze dried or sugared grapefruit slices, lime wedge, citrus salt, etc.
Cilantro (*optional)
Prep your glasses: run a lime wedge around the rim and then dip the rim in citrus salt. Set the glass aside until ready to use.
Combine the ingredients in a cocktail shaker: combine the tequila, grapefruit, lime, agave, and a few ice cubes in a cocktail shaker (if you do not have a cocktail shaker, you can shake them together in a mason jar).
Shake shake shake: shake for about 10 seconds or until chilled.
Strain and serve on the rocks: place a few ice cubes (or one large ice cube so that it will melt more slowly) in the serving glass, then strain the Paloma over ice, add club soda, stir and add garnish of choice.
**If you’re a cilantro lover try add a few cilantro leaves to your cocktail by muddling them prior to your shaking. Delish!
Our top picks for making cocktails at home
Now that you’re ready to unleash your inner mixologist, we’ve rounded up some of our team’s favorite products for bartending at home. We hope you love them as much as we do!
Citrus Zester: This zesting tool is easy to hold and makes perfect citrus twists for an elevated cocktail garnish. It’s a huge improvement over a basic veggie peeler! Zesting Tool
Cocktail Shaker: Essential for making delicious, chilled cocktails at home. This one is leak free and has stood the test of time (large and small shakers are sold separately - you’ll need both). Cocktail Shaker
Stir Spoon: This long spoon is super helpful when putting the final touches on any cocktail. We also love how pretty it looks sitting on the bar. Bar Spoon
Square 2” Ice Mold: Add citrus slices, mint, edible flowers and more to instantly upgrade any beverage at home. Bonus - the larger ice cubes melt more slowly which prevents your cocktail from getting watered down. Silicone Ice Mold
Citrus Salt: We love to elevate our Margaritas and Palomas at home by adding a citrus salted rim. This one has salt, a touch of sweetness, and a hint of citrus. Yum! Citrus Salt
Dried Citrus Rounds: Impress your guests by adding dehydrated citrus rounds to your next cocktail or mocktail. We’re a big fan of this brand! Dried Citrus
Muddler: We love this unvarnished Beech Hardwood muddler. It’s smooth to the touch, heavy and almost too pretty to use! This would make a great gift for any cocktail lover in your life. Its also essential for muddling that cilantro in your Paloma (trust us, it’s delish)! Wood Muddler
Bourbon Soaked Cherries: Don’t hesitate, just buy them! They elevate your Old Fashioned instantly (and taste amazing over vanilla ice cream). Try out this duo that comes with Woodford Reserve cherries and Luxardo Maraschino cherries. Cherries Two Ways
We had a blast with Scarlett and learned a ton. If you’d like to book her for your next event you can find her at scarlettevent.com or @scarletteventseattle. Fans of The Gathering 98040 also qualify for a discount at Scarlett’s apparel site girlpowersport.com. Enter the code GATHERING for 25% through the end of the December. All products are made in Washington state.
Thanks for reading! Until we gather again!
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