Answering the most asked question I get from guests I have served. How do I come up with unique flavor combinations for my cocktails? This short video reveals some of the resources I use to brainstorm flavor combinations for the drinks I create. Comment below and tell me how and where you find inspiration for your cocktails. Hope you enjoyed this quick look at how I find inspiration for my cocktails. Don't forget to smash that subscribe button for more videos on cocktails and drinking.

https://youtu.be/dWsjnzLqd7E

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Do you love drinking and being social, but hate the terrible hangovers the following day? This video showcases three tips that everyone can do to reduce the blood alcohol content in their body. These three important tips have saved me from feeling like a train wreck the next day. Give these tips a go and comment below on how you felt the next day after a night out of drinking. Hope you enjoyed this in depth look at preventing your blood alcohol concentration from sky rocketing. Don't forget to smash that subscribe button for more videos on cocktails and drinking.

https://youtu.be/FIZwn0D6PGs

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Flavor pairing books are a must have whether you are a home or professional bartender. Flavor pairing books are great resources in building and creating amazing flavor combinations for your cocktails. This video shows you the layout and how to use my top two must have flavor pairing books. Creating a flavor pairing diagram for your cocktail and using the flavor pairing book as a compliment to the flavor pairing diagram is a great way to ensure your cocktail will have a strong starting point. Click on the link below to see how you can bounce flavors around and utilize the flavor pairing diagram to elevate your cocktail creations.

https://youtu.be/CykMdVzph_U

Hope you enjoyed this in depth look at my favorite flavor pairing books. Don't forget to hit that subscribe button for more videos to improve your cocktail beverage program.

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Strawberry syrup is the perfect flavor for those summer time vibes. It’s amazing in strawberry lemonade and in a strawberry daiquiri.

The recipes work for soft berry syrups such as raspberry, blackberry, or blueberry. You can even use the recipes as a template to make syrups from tropical fruit such as longans or lychee. Play around and experiment with different soft fruits.

https://youtu.be/bdq5PgzCY3c

For bartenders, degree brix is a measure of how much sugar content is in your syrup. Measuring your syrup in degree brix with a refractometer will elevate the quality of your cocktails for your restaurant and bar’s cocktail program. Ensuring your syrups are made consistently with the same level of sugar content ensures that your cocktails consistently taste the same, and have the same body and texture.

This video shows how to measure brix and how to calculate your desired brix level. The formula will save you loads of time from having to annoyingly guess how much water, fruit juice, or sugar to add for your syrup. Knowing how to make consistent syrups for any cocktail beverage program is a must have skill for any professional cocktail bartender.

Quick note. A 2:1 ratio rich syrup has a 66.7 degree brix. You well need to purchase a refractometer that is able to read beyond 66.7 degree brix if you are planning to make 2:1 flavored rich syrups. I personally make flavored syrups around 49-52 degree brix. Here's the refractometer I personally purchased at Amazon that has a scale of 0-55 degree brix. Link Below.

https://tinyurl.com/33u953et

Also note that if all you see is an all white background on your refractometer scale reading, then that means your syrup's brix level is beyond the scope of your refractometer scale. So that means your syrup's brix level is higher than what your refractometer can read. The background should be the same color as the refractometer's prism when there is no syrup on the angle prism.

Hope you enjoyed this in depth look at syrups. Don't forget to hit that subscribe button for more videos to improve your cocktail beverage program.

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Oil & Fat Infusions are a great and easy way to add flavor to your cocktail. With so many different types of oils out there, the possibilities of spirit and flavor combinations are limitless. I have a link below to my, "Flavor Bouncing: Master the Art of Cocktail Flavor Pairing", video that is an amazing how to guide for the home and professional bartender.

https://youtu.be/CykMdVzph_U

Fat washing allows you to infuse spirits with fats and oils without leaving your spirit with that oily greasy body and texture. Here's how it works. Fat and oils are not soluble in water. You'll notice that the oils and fat will just separate and float on the water's top surface due to its lighter density to water. Ethanol has a much lower freezing temperature (-174.6˚F / -114.7˚C) than oil and fat. Spirits are diluted with water. Water freezes at 32˚F / 0˚C. The spirits freezing point is somewhere in between that of ethanol and water. Spirits at 80 proof or 40% alcohol by volume freezes at -16.6˚F / -8.5˚C due to its dilution with water. Oils and fats will freeze slightly above the freezing point of water at roughly 42.8˚F / 6˚C. Therefore, oil and fats will freeze in your freezer while your alcohol remains in liquid form allowing for an easy separation of solidified fat and oil from the alcohol by fine straining.

Don't limit yourself to infusing just butter and other oils found in your local food market. Be bold and adventurous and use the fat from your braising liquid for your next oil and fat spirit infusion. If you're a bar restaurant owner or a beverage director, reusing your braising liquid is a great way to practice sustainability, gain a competitive advantage over your competitors by having a cocktail that no one can replicate, and increasing profitability by not wasting products.

Oil & Fat washing is easy to do. Actual prep time is 5-7 minutes. The rest of the time you are just Netflix and chilling.

Ginger Scallion Chilean Sea Bass

Cooking with alcohol is a great way to understand how well flavors of the alcohol and food pair with one another. It can even spur ideas of flavor combinations for your next cocktail creations. Don't limit yourself to just combining flavors solely for creating a cocktail. Cook with sherry, rum, cognac, or any wine, spirit, or liqueur to better understand the nuances of flavor combinations.

Here, I'm sharing one my all time favorite Chinese dish, Ginger Scallion Chilean Sea Bass. The nutty and umami flavor from the sauce pairs well with the Amontillado Sherry. The Fino Sherry is an amazing wine pairing for the light delicate flavors of the garnish along with the dark nutty umami notes of the sauce.

Try my take on the dish with Sherry, and let me know what you think.

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Master the Art of Cocktail Flavor Pairings

Learn how to build complex flavor profiles from a World's 50 Best Bartender with the Flavor Bouncing Diagram. Learning this important technique will help you elevate your cocktail creations. The flavor pairing tutorial will enable you to think out of the box and push yourself to find unique food and flavor pairings that aren't so obvious. This lesson will improve your cocktails whether you are a beginner or a professional bartender.