There are so many different techniques that can play a part in crafting a perfect cocktail, and one of them is muddling — but When should you muddle the ingredients in your cocktail, and when should you go for an infused syrup instead (which can also boost the fresh flavors in your drink, albeit in a different way)? Luckily, content creator and cocktail book author has an answer for you. Hughes — who runs the website — spoke exclusively to The Takeout about the art of muddling cocktail ingredients and why it's so important for specific drinks. Muddling, just as a refresher, involves using a blunt object to crush non-alcoholic components of a cocktail.
So why muddle? What does it do for the drink? "In the case of mint and other fresh herbs, muddling helps to release the aromatic and flavorful oils within the herbs so they can be incorporated with the rest of the cocktail ingredients," Hughes told us. "With fresh fruit, like berries and citrus, muddling helps break down the fruit, and release the juices." Still, there are other ways to flavor a cocktail — namely, by using infused syrups.
However, they can be time-consuming and fiddly to make, so for many home bartenders, the convenience of muddling makes it the superior choice. Why should you muddle ingredients instead of just crafting your own syrup? Another great way to add fresh flavor to a cocktail is by making an infused simple syrup — and even if you've never made one of those before, you've probably encountered.
