Garnish Your Cocktails
One of the simplest ways to improve your at-home cocktails is to garnish them. The garnish can act as a visual cue to the flavors of the drink and can even help differentiate cocktails that are similar in appearance. However, beyond the basic aesthetics, it is important to draw distinctions between garnishes that serve purely a visual purpose and those that can enhance the cocktail by interacting with your other senses.
Garnishes have the potential to change the way you experience a cocktail simply through the incorporation of aromatics. Without changing any ingredients or method of preparation, a garnish can target multiple senses and enhance the overall libation before even taking a sip. The perfect example of what is considered a functional garnish is the Old Fashioned’s orange peel; beyond it’s classic and understated presentation, aroma from the orange oil creates a lingering scent that adds dimension to a rather simple three-ingredient cocktail. Similarly, the Mai Tai benefits greatly from the aromatic combination of the sprigs of mint and the oils extracted from the spent lime shell resting atop the crushed ice. In either instance, as delicious is it would be on their own, the functional garnishes contribute perception of the overall flavor that you’ve come to expect.
Conversely, some garnishes play less of a role in transforming the cocktail and are more geared toward the aesthetics. While some professionals avoid these non-functional garnishes, I feel some of the most memorable cocktails I can remember were garnished with those purely for the intrigue and whimsy. Garnishes such as dehydrated citrus wheels, pineapple leaves, and umbrellas lack the necessity to be included, but can be a fun spectacle. By that same token, the complete absence of garnish on a cocktail can be a bold choice letting it speak for itself. Like anything, if you are taking the time to make a killer cocktail, have fun with the garnish — I would argue the first “sip” of any cocktail is that of a pure visual.
