Does it matter when ice is added to a drink?

When some bartenders build a drink, they start off adding ice first and then add the ingredients. Other bartenders will add the ingredients first and then add ice. When it comes to building a cocktail, the type of cocktail that is being made will determine when the ice should be added.

With drinks that need to be made over ice in a shaker or in a mixing glass (Martinis, Manhattans or Daiquiris), the ice should be added last for a couple of reasons. First, it’s always a good idea to measure out the ingredients and add them to the mixing glass, before adding ice. This allows the bartender to double check the amount of each ingredient added by sight. If ice is added to the mixing glass first, this makes it difficult for the bartender to “eyeball” the measurements of the ingredients that were added.

If a bartender is building a drink that requires liquor and a mixer (Moscow Mules or Cuba Libres), exact measurements of the ingredients aren’t as pertinent. With these types of drinks, bartenders will normally add ice to the glass first and then use the free-pour method to measure out how much liquor and mixer is added to the drink.

Water is the secret ingredient in every cocktail made. Did you know that one-quarter of each cocktail that is made over ice in a shaker or in a mixing glass consists of melted water from the ice? This is an important element in cocktail making because the melted water not only reduces the overall alcohol level, but it also makes the cocktail more pleasant to drink.

Sometimes customers might order a drink and ask to hold the ice, thinking that they will get a stronger drink. When a customer requests a drink without ice, their drink will have the same amount of alcohol in it as the drink with ice would get. Requesting to hold the ice will not only result in a lukewarm drink, but the drink will have more mixer added to it than alcohol. For these types of customers, its always a good idea to ask if they would prefer a “double” (double the alcohol, double the price) instead since they probably don’t realize that the alcohol added to the drink remains the same whether the drink has ice in it or not.

Check out Kathleen Neves at Examiner.com as the National Bartender Examiner

Read Kathleen's personal bartender blog at Cielo Gold: San Francisco Bartender Blog