Whether it’s setting up your altar, reading tarot, or doing spell work the elements are taken into consideration. They are part of the rituals. The elements are taken into consideration with great care and knowledge. Why should making a cocktail be any different? After all, the mixing of ingredients with an intention, even if only to be strong or taste good, can be looked at as spell casting.
There are a few different ways the elements can be presented and thought about in relation to an alcoholic beverage. I’ll do my best to cover them in this series. Before that though, you may want to know what makes me qualified to talk about any of this. My name is Laura Reidy. I’ve been working in the hospitality industry for almost 20 years. I have competed in multiple cocktail competitions, even making it to top 8 of a national competition. When traveling the world I make it a point to visit distilleries, wineries and the occasional brewery wherever we are. I have been to more than 35 distilleries and I can’t even begin to remember how many wineries. While I do not have any certification, yet, I have certainly tried a ton of different alcohol. Those experiences have helped me develop what I consider a discerning palate and tolerance for all kinds of flavors, strengths and expressions.
Now to go into our first element: Water. Water can be smooth, flowing, and calm or choppy, jagged and formidable. This element is often associated with feminine energy, emotional release and building relationships. What does that have to do with alcohol? Putting those ideas into a cocktail, emotional release is often why we drink, to feel the enjoyable effects of the alcohol. I personally have built most of my relationships based on drinking and enjoying the company around me.
Perhaps what first comes to mind with water in relation to cocktails is something “on the rocks”, “shaken or stirred”? However we wouldn’t have alcohol without water. It plays a massive part in the distillation and making of alcohol.
Have you ever wondered why a lot of American whiskeys come from Kentucky?
Why there is such an abundance of scotch distilleries located near the River Spey?
Have you ever tried home brewing and realized just how much water is required to make beer?
More interested in wine? The terroir, the complete natural environment in which a particular wine is produced, is talked about with wine making, but the water quality around the world adds to that “terroir” and therefore the quality and flavor of the finished product.
A lot of American bourbons and whiskies are made in Kentucky and Tennessee because of the natural limestone filtered water that is accessible in those regions. The water is naturally filtered and allows the grain to shine through in the distillation process. Now while I could nerd out about the distillation process and how alcohol is made, I won’t bore you with that just now. I would highly recommend, if you’ve not yet had the experience of taking a distillery, winery or brewery tour that you do that at some point in your life. I will say though that water is necessary to life and it is no less necessary to all alcohol and alcohol production.
Now that we have the alcohol and understand the importance of it in the spirit itself, ice and refrigeration were essentially the beginning of the cocktail movement. Being able to keep ingredients chilled changed everything. Before that in the early 1800’s the British Royal Navy were drinking Navy strength gin, which is at approximately 56% alcohol, with a dash of bitters and at whatever temperature the rest of the ship was. Doesn’t sound too appealing. The ability to chill the liquor (enter martinis) makes it much more palatable.
Another important part ice and water play is in making the cocktail itself. The dilution of a mixed drink is typically 15-20% of your final drink. Now, you may think that’s a rip off when you’re ordering cocktails out at a bar or restaurant, but I promise without that dilution process the ingredients don’t mix together and won’t give you the same enjoyable experience. Too little dilution makes for a choppy drinking experience, and too much dilution will feel as though your alcohol is drowning. The quality of ice is something that is now being discussed outside of hospitality professionals like myself, which is great to see. The clearer the ice cubes, in whatever shape they come, the fewer minerals were in the water before freezing. It is ideal to have clear ice cubes. Think back to if you’ve ever traveled somewhere new and tried the local tap water for the first time. Did it have a distinct taste you weren’t used to? What happens if you live in or travel to a place that doesn’t have clean drinking water? Now imagine that adding to your cocktail. Not an ingredient you want.
Now, focusing back to intention. What kind of ice you use, there are many different kinds, depends on what you’re making. The intention of end result is mandatory in choosing the right ice. Tropical influenced drinks are often found on pebble, or crushed ice because of the ingredients with higher acid content, fancy syrups or different viscosities (think coconut cream and pineapple found in a Painkiller). It’s essential that the ingredients remain mixed and dilution helps with that. With faster melting ice that helps keep them in an equal consistency. With more spirit forward drinks like an Old Fashioned you are likely to use a large ice cube or sphere that has a larger surface area and melts much slower to keep the strength and quality of the cocktail while maintaining its temperature. These are also great to use for sipping on a single spirit alone; perhaps a nice whisk(e)y or aged rum.
Any other kind of cocktail you’re thinking of making at home will benefit from the bar standard 1”x1” ice cube. It’s a great idea to have a couple silicone molds in your freezer ready for your use. The caveat to this is if you don’t imbibe often, make sure to take the ice out of the mold and put it into a plastic bag. Otherwise your ice will pick up ambient flavor from whatever else you’re storing in your freezer. Frozen vegetables or pizza are generally not an ideal cocktail ingredient.
It’s all about your intention, just like with any good spell casting. Make sure you’re using enough ice. The cocktail shaker should be full of ice in order to give a proper dilution. Likewise, the ice should not float in the glass. If it is, add more until it isn’t. If you’ve read all of this and are now thinking you have to go out and purchase clear ice or molds or something else, that isn’t totally the case.
It is more important that you understand the reasoning behind these things in order to adjust accordingly. If you only have ice from the door of your freezer and it comes out in varies sizes or smaller than 1”x1” that is perfectly fine. This just means if you’re shaking a cocktail you’ll need to do it hard and fast in order to not make it over-diluted. That is easily fixed. If you wanted to drink a spirit on the rocks and don’t have a large ice cube mold, try adding a couple drops of water to the glass and putting the spirit and the glass in the fridge until chilled. (I would recommend it be covered in some manner so it doesn’t begin tasting like the leftovers instead of the spirit you want to enjoy). The same goes for a spirit forward drink. Chill the glass, chill the cocktail, quickly, with whatever ice you have, and then strain into a container to put in the fridge. {Pro tip: Batch up your favorite spirit forward cocktail, a Manhattan, a Martini, anything without an acidic proponent and place in a large bottle. Keep that pre-made bottle in the fridge and then they’ll be ready and waiting for you. This is also a great idea for parties that is when we have this global pandemic under control and can safely have parties again.}
I hope this has given you some insight into how I think about water in relation to cocktails and alcohol. I also hope you may have learned something and can use some of this knowledge in your own home bars. I’m looking forward to writing the next few installments on the other elements of alchemy of a cocktail. If you’d like to follow along with my cocktail making journey and regular life shenanigans you can find me on Instagram @BeautyandtheBourbon Cheers!