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Koktelia field guide

Skills for a better pour.

Learn the decisions between bottle and glass: measuring, chilling, dilution, texture, balance and service.

8practical guides3–8maverage read

Technique Fundamentals Ingredients Hosting

The essentials

Four skills that change every pour.

Hands holding both ends of a frosted two-tin cocktail shaker above a prepared home bar.

How to shake a cocktail properly

The grip, timing, ice and visual cues that make shaken drinks colder and brighter.

A bar spoon moving smoothly around clear ice in a chilled mixing glass.

How to stir a cocktail for a silky finish

Control chilling and dilution without adding the bubbles and texture of a shake.

Fresh mint and lime being gently pressed with a broad wooden muddler in a highball glass.

How to muddle mint and fruit without bitterness

Release aroma and juice while avoiding shredded herbs and harsh citrus pith.

Large clear ice, standard cubes and crushed ice shown in three appropriate cocktail glasses.

Fundamentals7 min

Cocktail ice: cubes, crushed ice and dilution

Understand why ice is an ingredient—and choose the right shape for every drink.

Technique

Hands-on methods

How to shake a cocktail properlyThe grip, timing, ice and visual cues that make shaken drinks colder and brighter.How to stir a cocktail for a silky finishControl chilling and dilution without adding the bubbles and texture of a shake.How to muddle mint and fruit without bitternessRelease aroma and juice while avoiding shredded herbs and harsh citrus pith.

Fundamentals

Understand fundamentals

Cocktail ice: cubes, crushed ice and dilutionUnderstand why ice is an ingredient—and choose the right shape for every drink.How to balance sweet, sour, strong and weakLearn to diagnose a cocktail by taste instead of blindly changing the recipe.

Ingredients

Understand ingredients

Fresh citrus for cocktails: juice, wedges and balanceGet brighter lime, lemon and grapefruit flavor with better prep and storage.Simple syrup ratios, storage and flavor variationsMake a consistent sweetener and understand when rich syrup changes a recipe.

Hosting

Serve a crowd calmly

How to batch cocktails for a partyScale drinks without flattening citrus, carbonation or the atmosphere at your own event.

Put it into practice

Choose a classic. We’ll guide every step.

Browse cocktails