Cocktail Time with Kevin Kos

Making cocktails is fun, math on the other hand… not so much 😅. So instead of having to open your calculator and adjusting each ingredient, the next time you’re making a large batch of Super Juice or Coconut Liqueur, just add how much you need to my Cocktail Calculators and they’ll do the work for you: www.kevinkos.com/cocktail-calculators

The Cocktail Calculators cover everything from DIY sodas, to cordials, and even an ABV calculator to help you when designing menus or even ready-to-drink cocktails. To get access to all of them you need to be a member of the Cocktail Time Patreon, but many of them are accessible to everyone, so head on over to kevinkos.com and enjoy the extra time saved when making your next large batch of cocktails. Cheers 🥂!

1 day ago | [YT] | 124

Cocktail Time with Kevin Kos

If you are unsure about what to make for your next cocktail, you can use food as a starting point instead 😉.

Think about a dish that you love, or something that you are serving along with drinks for a nice dinner night, then think about a cocktail that would match with that food. Here, I started with dessert, going with a brownie served with homemade strawberry dressing, ice cream and whipped cream 🍓. Here is where the magic happens.

With leftover strawberry dressing, and the need for something fresh that would pair with it, I went with the classic combo of strawberries and basil. Lemon came in next, to balance the sweetness of both the dressing and the dessert, which made this mix of flavors call for a twist on a Gin Basil Smash 😋. A splash of prosecco in the cocktail before serving it adds a nice touch too, and who doesn’t like bubbles on a special occasion?

With that, we’ve built an easy, but delicious cocktail. But feel free to use the same technique to develop drinks that match savory options, or even classic bar snacks like nuts or chips. Until next time, cheers 🥂!

1 week ago | [YT] | 127

Cocktail Time with Kevin Kos

This is a Negroni mixed with coconut oil - and no, it’s not fat washed 🤩!

It doesn’t use any emulsifiers or additives either, instead it’s made using a new technique developed by Iain McPherson 🐼: Densing! This allows you to mix any spirits, liqueurs, and even batched cocktails with fats and keep them mixed for weeks using just one piece of equipment: a vacuum blender, and I just covered everything you need to know about Densing in my latest video: https://youtu.be/tui6YS8SoQk

This technique might change the future of what cocktails can be, especially because it’s faster and cheaper than fat washing, making it a great addition to your bar skills without having to break the bank. So head on over to the full episode, and I’ll see you there. Cheers 🥂!

1 week ago | [YT] | 149

Cocktail Time with Kevin Kos

Clarification is one of the best techniques for making beautiful cocktails… but what if you could do this without specialty ingredients like Pectinex or agar agar 🤔? You can, and the secret is using the power of freezing!

It’s as easy as simply freezing the juice you want to clarify, then slowly thawing it out to get a clearer result—but not all ingredients will clarify the same. So to figure out the best ones, I freeze-clarified 5 juices in my latest video ❄️: https://youtu.be/psRX1C7auj8

As a plus, there I’ll also cover how you can use freeze clarification to concentrate the flavor of your ingredients while you make them crystal clear. So if you’re ready to concentrate the power of freezing for better cocktails, it’s Cocktail Time 🥂!

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 130

Cocktail Time with Kevin Kos

Kate Gerwin is one of the best bartenders in the world, and she just revealed her tips on making better cocktails on our newsletter: The Cocktail Times ✉️!

You may recognize Kate from her appearance on the Netflix show Drinkmasters, but she’s been working hard in hospitality for the past 20 years. She’s received multiple awards along the way, and now she owns Happy Accidents, a bar in New Mexico that also works as a distillery 🤩.

Kate has thankfully sent in a lot more tips and answers that we’ll feature this Friday on The Cocktail Times, so if you want to learn from a word-class bartender just click here to register: www.kevinkos.com/newsletter 👈. Kate and I will see you on Friday. Cheers!

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 121

Cocktail Time with Kevin Kos

As Jeffrey Morgenthaler points out in The Bar Book, tinctures are one of the best techniques you can master as a bartender 💪.

They allow you to pack a lot of flavor in small bottles, making it so that you don’t have to infuse entire bottles of liquor to create the flavor profile you’re looking for. It’s also easy to use tools like sous vide, vacuum chambers, or ultrasound to speed up your tinctures from a couple of weeks to a few hours, meaning that time is not a problem when it comes to testing out new tinctures 🤩.

With access to tinctures in just a matter of hours, this also means you can use them to test out new cocktail ideas and flavor pairings—or in other words, great job Jeffrey 😉. What’s your favorite way to use tinctures? Let me know down in the comments. Cheers!

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 157

Cocktail Time with Kevin Kos

Clarifying juices is easy 🤔. You don’t even need enzymes, milk, or expensive filters to get the perfect result, just your ingredient of choice and a freezer!

This is thanks to a technique called Freeze Clarification that you can use to alter the look, taste, and even texture of your juices. So now you can fine-tune your cocktails to elevate them even more, all without the need for difficult techniques or expensive bar gear 💰.

Check out my latest episode to learn more here https://youtu.be/psRX1C7auj8 👈, and I’ll also show you how clarified juices can be used to create crisp and stunning cocktails. I’ll see you there, cheers!

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4 weeks ago | [YT] | 175

Cocktail Time with Kevin Kos

I want to answer your cocktail questions… anytime 🤩! It doesn't matter if you're just getting into cocktails and want to create your first original recipe, or if you're more advanced and having trouble getting your Spring menu to come together, I want to help you one-on-one… but I can't do this on my own 🤔.

That's why, behind the scenes, we've been working to develop Kevin AI, training it on almost 20 years of bartending and hospitality experience – from my experience as a bartender and bar manager, to my masterclasses, and everything I've learned while talking with some of the most influential figures in hospitality around the world 🌎.

We are launching the beta version soon, and we're giving access to 25 people to help us test it out. You can get a chance by joining our Patreon and by filling out the form in our latest post here www.patreon.com/posts/ask-me-questions-152208902?u… 👈.

1 month ago | [YT] | 109

Cocktail Time with Kevin Kos

Safety is always first ⚠️!

In a recent episode I covered a 600 year old Japanese technique called kintsugi, which is used to repair broken and chipped glasses using gold 🪙. It’s making a comeback as many bars are focusing on sustainability, and cutting costs… but I forgot to cover an important safety fact.

As pointed out by @nicoperezgran on Instagram, you should never grind or sand dry glasses, as it releases a lot of glass dust into the air. So if you want to test kintsugi out, or if you’re working on a new art project using leftover bottles or old glassware, remember to keep them damp – yes, even if you have gloves, goggles, and a respirator.

Thank you to Nico for pointing that out, and if you want to learn more about the history of kintsugi, you can watch my episode on it here: https://youtu.be/E_Y7kLO3Iaw?si=gVY0z... 👈 Cheers!

1 month ago | [YT] | 68

Cocktail Time with Kevin Kos

When it comes to making syrups, shrubs, extracts, tinctures, and other types of infusions, the way you prepare the ingredients will have a huge impact on the taste of the final product 🤔.

If you want to extract as much flavor as possible, your best bet is to increase the surface area by splitting and chopping up the ingredients before infusing. If you instead want a more controlled infusion, then you should reduce the amount of the ingredient’s surface area that’s in contact with the solvent ⚖️. This can be useful when making infusions with a large number of ingredients like bitters or amaro.

As always, if you’re trying something new, like grinding your ingredients with a spice grinder instead of a mortar and pestle, make sure you write it down. This way you can keep your recipes consistent, especially if you want someone else to follow them later on for bar prep 😉. Until next week, cheers!

1 month ago | [YT] | 107