structure

in a cocktail is the interplay of all the components that go into making the drink and how they work together. Understanding the role each of a drink’s components plays is a fundamental aspect of being able to understand why one cocktail works and a similar one doesn’t.

Discussing the structure of a cocktail can be more challenging than discussing the structure of food. With a piece of fried chicken, it is easier to visualize, identify, and experience the separate functions of a crunchy outer coating, the moist inner flesh, and the hard bone that supports it all. You can also describe the flavor differences between the skin and the meat as well as the savory aroma that fills the room.

With a cocktail, however, the flavors, textures, hues, and aromas are contained in fluids and, though mixed together, still result in a unitary liquid. While this liquid may have discernible components within its overall architecture—a particular flavor, a texture, a perceived brightness, softness, or funk—defining how those pieces work together is challenging. In a Last Word cocktail, with gin, lime juice, maraschino liqueur, and green Chartreuse, it is easy to identify the drink’s sweetness as coming from the two liqueurs and its acidity from the lime, but with three pungent, highly flavored spirits in it, untangling its botanical notes is much less straightforward.

A cocktail’s structure is the summation of many individual factors. You may have to consider the characteristics of the base spirit, the function of each ingredient and the interplay between them, the ratios contained in the recipe itself, its balance, the roles of any acid or sweet ingredients (are they modifiers, fundamentally changing thee texture and effect of the drink, or are they mere accents?), the function of any chosen counter-modifier, the resultant effect from the layering of flavors, the intensity of any bitterness, the drink’s viscosity, overall aroma, and so on.

The best way to understand structure is to analyze the overall architecture of a portfolio of classic drinks, for example, the Manhattan, Martini, Negroni, Old Fashioned, and Daiquiri. See Daiquiri; Manhattan Cocktail; Martini; Negroni;, Old-Fashioned Cocktail. Select one recipe, and evaluate each individual component, focusing on how ingredients work with each other and if they blend together. Just because history dictates a specific recipe, that doesn’t mean it has to be followed verbatim. Nor does it mean that the recipe structure is appropriate for all choices of ingredients.

The original Sidecar recipe was equal parts of cognac, Cointreau, and lemon juice, but bartenders eventually realized that this 1–1–1 structure wasn’t ideal for all; adjustments were needed to achieve proper balance and express the character of the ingredients. See Sidecar. Likewise, the Negroni is typically described as a recipe of equal parts, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t potential to adjust those proportions in order for the ingredients to realize their full potential together.

Approaching the structure of a drink like the Negroni in order to adjust its proportions means looking at the ingredients, as well as the choice of specific brands. While Campari is bitter, it is also sweet; adding equal parts sweet vermouth can make the drink feel heavy on the palate from richness and viscosity. This makes it important to focus on tempering this sweetness with the gin, but which gin—and how much of it to use?

With respect to Campari, would a gin utilizing an orange botanical be a better choice than one without? How would a juniper-forward gin work in the drink, different from one with more delicate juniper notes? Might increasing the amount of gin help cut through some of the Negroni’s overall sweetness and provide a little more “spine” to the drink’s overall structure? Or is there another way to do that, perhaps with a splash of chilled sparkling water?

As aromatic cocktails are prepared with all clear ingredients and therefore stirred, it would be assumed that the Negroni should be prepared by stirring it. Yet many historical recipes indicate that it is shaken. How does the difference of shaking or stirring affect the texture of the final product given its historical ratio of 1–1–1? Is it better to serve the drink up or on the rocks? Should it be garnished with orange slice or an orange twist?

Developing an intimate understanding of each individual component of a drink recipe and how they affect one another offers the ability to fine-tune the structure of any drink with great precision.See also tasting spirits.

Arnold, Dave. Liquid Intelligence. New York: W. W. Norton, 2014.

Page, Karen, and Andrew Dornenburg. The Flavor Bible. New York: Little, Brown, 2008.

By: Audrey Saunders