Cocktail Time with Kevin Kos

It might seem like a small detail, but labeling and dating your cocktail ingredients can make a bigger difference than you think 🏷️!

Whether you're working at home or behind a professional bar, knowing exactly what's in each bottle and when it was made gives you a way to control the quality of your ingredients over time. A cordial made two weeks ago behaves differently from a fresh one, and without a label, that's a lot of error that can be introduced - even if you think you can control the quality of your cocktails by taste alone.

It also makes it a lot easier to track your progress as you develop new recipes. If you tweak a tincture or a syrup and want to compare it to a previous batch, your labels are the only way to know which is which. And if you ever work with other bartenders or hand off a recipe to someone else, a clearly labeled bottle removes any guesswork and keeps everyone on the same page!

So next time you bottle something, take the extra 30 seconds to add a label with the name and any other piece of important information like the date, ABV, ratios used, and more. It's one of those habits that seems unnecessary until the day it saves you from a very expensive mistake. Cheers 🥂!

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 118

Cocktail Time with Kevin Kos

Did you know that watermelon, carrots, and tomatoes can clarify a cocktail? 🍉🥕🍅

It sounds strange, but the natural pectin found in fruits and vegetables can work as a filter to create perfectly clear cocktails, all without the need for milk, agar agar, or specialty enzymes. So today we'll put it to the test with just a blender, a coffee filter, and patience in the latest Cocktail Time episode 👉: https://youtu.be/Cso3Xt7yaXg

As a bonus, along with clarifying, in this latest video I also tested a new carbonator system I came across in Brazil that lets you chill and carbonate your cocktails at once, all without losing carbonation between each cocktail serve. It’s called Preshh and you’ll learn more about it with this and more upcoming episodes, so stay tuned for that.

As for now, drop a comment letting me know which fruit or vegetable you'd try today’s clarification technique with first. I'd love to know, and until next time, cheers 🥂!

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 136

Cocktail Time with Kevin Kos

Watching the World Cup on TV has been great ⚽, but it’s hard to beat the time I saw a soccer match at Brazil’s iconic Maracanã stadium earlier this year.

This was a part of my first trip to South America to join the winners of Diplomatico’s Artisans of Taste competition, where we got a real taste of the Brazilian way of life. I compiled some of my favorite moments into a short travel vlog so you too can enjoy the unique experiences we had there, including a visit to Christ the Redeemer, a real-life chocolate factory, and even a Sunday morning on the closed streets of Copacabana watching the whole city come alive.

Watch it in full here: www.patreon.com/cocktailtime/posts/skip-cocktails-…

I can’t wait to be back in Brazil, and even if the weather in Europe feels hotter than normal right now, I know I still can’t get enough of the warmth of people there. And who knows, maybe I’ll see you there too. Cheers 🥂!

4 weeks ago | [YT] | 39

Cocktail Time with Kevin Kos

I’ve shown in previous episodes that you can use a milk frother to skip having to double shake cocktails with egg whites, but there is another use for this tool: getting the perfect crown of foam on top of your next Espresso Martini 😋.

All you need is to whip up the ingredients before adding ice and shaking to get a perfect result, without adding too much time to prepare each cocktail. You’ll be surprised at just how much texture this adds, but keep in mind that this tip only works as long as your coffee is great too. It’s not necessary to break the bank either, but as long as you're going with fresh coffee and a variety you'd enjoy drinking, you're on track to make an unforgettable Espresso Martini. Cheers🥂!

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1 month ago | [YT] | 83

Cocktail Time with Kevin Kos

Making an ingredient focused on just one flavor would make you think you only need two ingredients - the alcohol and the component you want to highlight - but in reality you can use a simple approach to get even better results 🤩!

The secret is to add ingredients that will highlight the main flavor profile of your ingredient of choice, without overpowering it. Think about how a small amount of espresso makes the flavor of chocolate stand out, or as we learned in the latest Cocktail Time episode, how some lemon peel can really enhance the citrus notes of spruce tips.

Some flavor pairings are more complex though, so if I’m ever feeling stuck I try using other resources like books on websites focused on flavor pairing as a starting point. Here are some of my favorites:

📖 The Flavor Matrix: geni.us/9PJj3R
📖 The Art & Science of Foodpairing: geni.us/gapK
🌐 Flavor DB: cosylab.iiitd.edu.in/flavordb/
🌐 Foodpairing: www.foodpairing.com/

Also feel free to experiment with your gut choice too, as you might discover the next tomato and basil combo that revolutionizes mixology. Cheers 🥂!

1 month ago | [YT] | 118

Cocktail Time with Kevin Kos

When looking to make better highballs, most people reach for a higher quality spirit or for more ingredients like bitters or liqueurs. I, on the other hand, believe that making better sodas is the real secret to making better cocktails… so I turned this exact idea into an e-book 📖!

It covers 3 recipes designed to take your cocktails to the next level: a grapefruit soda that lets you make over 20 bottles from just 2 grapefruits, a more unique kumquat soda for those looking to explore seasonal flavors, and a fig and cream soda made with real dairy for a richer, more indulgent result.

Each soda comes with a cocktail to put it to the test too, along with tips on batching larger amounts for when you need more efficiency behind the bar. So if you're ready to give your sodas the attention they deserve, grab a copy here www.patreon.com/cocktailtime/posts/make-better-for… 👈. Cheers!

1 month ago | [YT] | 89

Cocktail Time with Kevin Kos

Once upon a time, bright, neon colored cocktails were all the rage. But we can get a similar result without the need of reaching for that bottle of Midori, blue curaçao, or even food coloring 🤩!

Instead, we’ll extract the bright colors from our ingredients with high proof alcohol, which is not only a great solvent, but it will also prevent the infusion from oxidizing and changing color. This is a technique I learned from Berlin’s Velvet Bar, where they use it along with seasonal ingredients, but you can easily apply it to any ingredient that can quickly brown like mint or basil.

To do this, just combine your ingredient with 96% ABV alcohol, and leave to infuse for a couple of weeks, or use a sous vide to get the same result in a few hours. Then just store your infusion in dasher bottles, and use them when building your drinks to get both the flavor and color of each ingredient. If you want to see this in action, you can check out my episode covering the technique here: https://youtu.be/UU9-GufJJ-w?si=HTEFb... 👈. Cheers!

1 month ago | [YT] | 151

Cocktail Time with Kevin Kos

One foraging trip, four cocktail ingredients, and one of the best Negroni variations I've ever made 🌲🤩!

Starting from a single spruce tip infusion, I turned one seasonal ingredient into a homemade vermouth, a syrup, and a liqueur - all in just minutes. Then I used all of those to build the Forest Negroni Bianco, a white Negroni twist that just might change how you think about seasonal cocktails. I just covered the full process in my latest episode: https://youtu.be/05pJoPYMKE0 👈

But more than just the recipes, this video is about a system you can apply to almost any seasonal ingredient, giving you the freedom to keep experimenting long after the season is over. So head on over to the full episode to see it all come together, and let me know in the comments which ingredient you'd try this with first. I'll see you there, cheers 🥂!

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1 month ago | [YT] | 165

Cocktail Time with Kevin Kos

Distillation is not just a tool to make spirits 🤔. Instead, use it to create crystal clear ingredients that are packed with flavor. I recently did this to make a lemongrass and sichuan pepper hydrosol for a special Margarita, and all you need to do the same is a small distiller geni.us/waterdistill 💧. Just add some water to your still, and your ingredients in a basket above it so that the steam can capture their flavors as it passes through.

What’s great about ingredients like hydrosols is that you can then turn them into clear syrups, acids, and cordials by adding sugar and acids. Not only this, but by clarifying just the modifiers and not the spirit, you get to preserve the color and texture of your whiskey or gin, unlike other clarification techniques like milk washing.

As a bonus tip, you can also wrap your setup in saran wrap to prevent any steam from escaping, making sure you get as much hydrosol and as much flavor as possible. Cheers 🥂!

1 month ago | [YT] | 115

Cocktail Time with Kevin Kos

Bugs on Guinness, the world's best bar, and a kayak that almost escaped without me… this is what 11 days in Hong Kong and Bangkok looked like 😅. The full travel vlog covering this and more during my latest Asia trip is now live on Patreon: www.patreon.com/posts/bugs-and-tuk-tuk-159741808?u…

It started out in Hong Kong, where I visited Bar Leone, currently holding the title of the world's best bar, followed by guest shifts at Gossip and Socio HK that brought together industry professionals and Friends of Cocktails from across the city. Bangkok was a completely different story though, being a lot louder, hotter, and full of surprises like TAX Bar's insect and cocktail pairings 🤩.

Head over to Patreon to watch it all unfold, and while you're there you'll also find exclusive recipes, early access to new episodes, and a lot more. Cheers!

1 month ago | [YT] | 30