All the Right Moves

Whipping up a cocktail might appear to be a no-brainer (what’s so hard about taking a few ingredients and adding them to ice to be shaken and strained?), but as any of the city’s top bartenders will tell you, the best-tasting drinks are not just about top-notch ingredients but also about how they’re combined. At the long-awaited Spruce, the new restaurant and bar due open this summer in Presidio Heights, wine-and-spirits director Andrew Green is a “sucker for cocktail technique.” As he says, “The process has a huge impact on flavor.” Green’s team has been building the menu drink by drink and honing their technique. Here are some of the things they (and other local bartenders) have learned. But don’t forget that good bartenders have another skill too—they can deftly mix a cocktail and make witty conversation.

Strainer vs. No Strainer
It’s not unusual to see bartenders strain a drink by opening a small crack between the mixing tin and glass, as the bartenders at Zuni do. But unwanted elements, such as citrus pulp and ice flecks, often spill into the cocktail. Better to use the classic Hawthorne strainer (the one with the spring) or the julep strainer (the short, round one, meant for straining from the mixing glass). Joseph H. Ehrmann, of Elixir, even advocates the occasional double strain through a fine-mesh tea strainer if you want a drink to look particularly clean and bright.

Shaken vs. Stirred
The question may seem a cliché, but it’s actually valid. According to Neyah White of Nopa, “Shaking a drink not only chills it and adds water but it adds a lot of oxygen as well. It’s a violent action that alters the texture and flavors of the drink.” Stirring is much more gentle and integrates the water from the ice with the liquor in a way that preserves more of the nuance of the spirit while creating an elegant and smooth texture.

Spoon vs. Handle
“I think stirring is kind of a lost art,” says Elixir’s Ehrmann, who prefers to stir drinks that only have alcoholic ingredients (martinis and Manhattans) and shake drinks with juice (margaritas). But stirring a mixing glass full of ice (quickly, before it melts) is not as easy as it looks. Some, such as White, of Nopa, use the handle end of a spoon to stir, while others, such as Dominic Venegas of Cantina and Bourbon & Branch, believe this is improper technique because the bartender might have touched the handle, and then it’s going into your drink. Stirring ice with the spoon end is a lot harder, though. Venegas uses a spinning, swirling motion, which he says he learned years ago when he started out at Trader Vic’s. “They made me practice it for two weeks until I got it right.”

Sugar vs. Simple Syrup
Most bars use a simple syrup to balance the tartness of citrus. But a few places—the Slanted Door and Spruce, for instance—use a spoonful of granulated sugar instead. “We think it’s a more accurate measure,” says Green, “and it also means that we don’t add any extra water to the drinks, which keeps them concentrated and allows the volume of the drink to be consistent for our glassware.” The only drawback to using granulated sugar is that it often doesn’t dissolve fully in the glass, leaving a grainy residue.

Glass vs. Shaker
“The ingredients for a cocktail should always be combined in the mixing glass, never in the metal shaker,” says Green, of Spruce. The reason is transparency—not only should customers be seeing that what they order is exactly what they’re getting, but it’s also helpful for the bartender to be able to see the ratio of his mix as well.


The Perfect Manhattan
Often, the simplest drinks are the ones for which technique is most important. For a Manhattan, shaking is not recommended.

2 ounces rye whiskey or bourbon
1 ounce Italian sweet vermouth
2 dashes Angostura bitters
Maraschino cherry or orange twist

Chill a martini glass. To a clean pint mixing glass, add the whiskey, vermouth and bitters. Fill the glass with ice and gently work your bar spoon down to the bottom of the glass, so as to not crush any ice. Stir the drink rapidly, spinning the spoon for about 30 quick revolutions. Strain quickly through a strainer into a chilled martini glass and garnish with a cherry or an orange twist.