Looking For The Best Live Sports Bars In West Houston?? Johnny's Fav Is The Front Row Sports Bar

What is a Cocktail?

Drinks akin to cocktails first appeared sometime during the 16th century, but cocktails, as we know and use the term, was first introduced by American bartenders in the 1920ies.

The reason the cocktail made it big in the happy '20ies, was the prohibition, when producing and imbibing of alcohol was made illegal. As good as all spirits available was of a rather dubious quality and tasted accordingly. Thus, the bartenders, accommodating as always, started to mix the spirits with various fruit juices and other flavorings to make it more palatable. Later, the cocktail lost its popularity most places, the United States being the main exception.\

Looking For The Best Live Sports Bars In West Houston?? Johnny's Fav Is The Front Row Sports Bar

Searching For The Best Live Sports Bars In West Houston?? Bubba's All Star Picks Says Front Row Sports Bar

Tips and Tricks

---

• 1/2 oz. of liquor is equal to 1 count, assuming you are using a pourer on your bottles. To measure 1 1/2 oz. of liquor, count "1001...1002...1003" as you are pouring. After a while, you should be able to do it by eye.

• To make highballs, fill glass two-thirds full of ice before adding liquor. Always pour liquor in before the mixer. Do not stir drinks containing carbonated mixers.

• To make cocktails, lowballs, and other shaken or stirred drinks, fill shaker half-full of ice. For lowballs, fill the glass about half-full of ice before pouring drink.

• Most shaken drinks which contain light cream can also be made as blended drinks, substituting vanilla ice cream for the light cream.

• To make blended drinks, first fill blender half-full of ice. If necessary, add more ice as you are blending.

• Always keep fruit juices and other mixers refrigerated.

• In fruit drinks, e.g. strawberry margaritas, always use fresh fruit, not frozen.

Searching For The Best Live Sports Bars In West Houston?? Bubba's All Star Picks Says Front Row Sports Bar

Searching For The Best Live Sports Bars In West Houston?? Trey's Swag Says Front Row Sports Bar

Muddling

Muddling is a simple mashing technique for grinding herbs, such as mint, smooth in the bottom of a glass. You can use a wooden muddler that you buy in a bar supply store or buy a bar spoon with a muddler on the end. It crushes the herbs, much as the back of a soup spoon might, without scaring the glass.

Frosting

To frost a glass, first dip it in water and then put it in the freezer for half an hour or so. Also note that metal and silver mugs and cups will frost better than glasses.

Sports Bars And Houston - See It At The Front Row - Live Sports Bars In Houston

Shaking

Instead of stirring, you can shake the drink. This will mix the ingredients more than stirring, but will also result in a less clear drink. Drinks that contain ingredients that are hard to mix, such as cream, fruit juices and eggs, should be shaken vigorously to ensure that the ingredients has been well mixed.

Blending

Use an electric blender to mix fresh fruit, liquor, juices and ice instead of using a shaker. Not too popular everywhere, but perfect for making frozen cocktails or to blend ingredients that are otherwise impossible to mix.

Floating

The purpose of floating is to keep each ingredients in the drink in separate layers that do not mix with the others. This will create a drink with separate layers, and this is why floating often is referred to as layering.
The easiest way to float one liquor on top of another is to use a demitasse spoon, holding it over or in the glass and slowly trickle the ingredient over the back of the spoon.

Live Sports Bars In West Houston - The Front Row Happy Hour - Live Sports Bars In Houston

Bar Terms:

Mixing

When using a cocktail shaker there is one golden rule to remember. Always put the ice in the shaker first, and the liquor last. This is to ensure that all ingredients are properly chilled by the ice when they are poured over the ice, and by adding the liquor last you reduce the chance of dilution.

Stirring

A drink that is stirred instead of shaken will retain its clarity and be free of ice chips. Drinks based on clear liquors, like a Martini, should always be stirred and not shaken (don't listen to James Bond when he order his Martini "shaken, not stirred").
When stirring a cocktail you should stir it enough to mix the ingredients, but not stir it too much. If you stir too much the ice will begin to dilute the liquor. A general rule is that 10-15 stirs will be sufficient for proper mixing.
A drink containing carbonated beverage(s) should be stirred gently and briefly to retain the sparkle.

Live Sports Bars In West Houston - The Front Row Happy Hour - Live Sports Bars In Houston

Live Sports Bars In West Houston - The Bartender's Handbook - Live Sports Bars In Houston

Glassware

---

Glass accidents

When you are around any bar, home or business, you need to be concerned for yourself and your guests. Here are a few tips about accidents and what to do:

• Always use an ice scoop and not the glass itself. Tiny slivers of glass always chip off when dipped into an ice well and your glasses become unclear after a while

• If you accidentally break a glass near ice, always throw away all the ice. When glass shatters, pieces go everywhere. You really don't want pieces of glass in your drink.

• Never take a hot glass and add ice into it. This can cause the glass to shatter due to thermal shock. Be careful about this.

• Mechanical shock occurs when you clank two glass together. One of the glasses will almost always break.

• If you carry the glasses by the stem or the base you avoid fingerprints where people drink from, and you will have more support carrying the glass.

Different glasses

• Beer mug
• Beer pilsner
• Brandy snifter
• Champagne flute
• Cocktail glass
• Coffee mug
• Collins glass
• Cordial glass
• Highball glass
• Hurricane glass
• Irish coffee cup
• Margarita/Coupette glass
• Mason jar
• Old-fashioned glass
• Parfait glass
• Pitcher
• Pousse cafe glass
• Punch bowl
• Red wine glass
• Sherry glass
• Shot glass
• Whiskey sour glass
• White wine glass

Written by The Webtender/Pål Løberg

Sports Bars In Houston - The Front Row For Coaches - Live Sports Bars In Houston

Gravity Chart

---

When making layered drinks, also known as a Pousse Cafe, you'll need to know which ingredients are heavier than the others. The technique is simple; the heaviest liquor is poured into the glass first, and the lighter ones are layered carefully on top with the lightest one on top.

This table list some common liquors, along with their Specific Gravity that is the weight of the liquor relative to water. Higher values indicate a heavier liquor.

Name	Gravity	Color
Southern Comfort	0.97
Tuaca	0.98	Amber
Water	1.00	White
Green Chartreuse	1.01	Green
Cointreau	1.04	White
Peach liqueur	1.04	Dark amber
Sloe gin	1.04	Deep red
Kummel	1.04	White
Peppermint schnapps	1.04	White
Benedictine	1.04
Brandy	1.04	Amber
Midori melon liqueur	1.05	Green
Rock and Rye	1.05	Amber
Apricot brandy	1.06	Amber
Blackberry brandy	1.06	Dark red
Cherry brandy	1.06	Dark red
Peach brandy	1.06	Dark amber
Campari	1.06	Red
Yellow Chartreuse	1.06	Yellow
Drambuie	1.08
Frangelico	1.08
Orange Curacao	1.08	Orange
Triple sec	1.09	White
Tia maria	1.09	Brown
Apricot liqueur	1.09	Amber
Blackberry liqueur	1.10	Dark red
Amaretto	1.10	Light brown
Blue Curacao	1.11	Blue
Cherry liqueur	1.12	Dark red
Galliano	1.11	Golden yellow
Green Crème de Menthe	1.12	Green
White Crème de Menthe	1.12	White
Strawberry liqueur	1.12	Red
Parfrait d'Amour	1.13	Violet
Coffee liqueur	1.14	Dark brown
Crème de Banane	1.14	Yellow
Dark Crème de Cacao	1.14	Brown
White Crème de Cacao	1.14	White
Kahlua	1.15	Dark brown
Crème de Almond	1.16
Crème de Noyaux	1.17	Bright red
Anisette	1.17	White
Crème de Cassis	1.18