Learn How To Appreciate Your Cocktail

Learn how to fully appreciate your next cocktail with these tips from Bartender Misty Kalkofen.

Having mastered sacred texts as well as the cocktail shaker, Kalkofen chose to focus her energy on the latter. While attending Harvard Divinity School, she began bartending to finance her education. Two years ago, she founded the Boston chapter of Ladies United for the Preservation of Endangered Cocktails, which celebrates the art of classic cocktails and raises money for women's charities. Now, Kalkofen mixes at chef Barbara Lynch's new bar, Drink.
What is your favorite fruit or vegetable to use in summer cocktails?
Strawberries are always among the first fresh berries of the season, and it's great to see the bright color after a winter of drab. I usually muddle or puree them-a strawberry batida is delicious and refreshing on a warm day.
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How do you dream up new cocktails?
Sometimes I look to cookbooks for inspiration. For example, while trying to come up with a drink using Plymouth Gin and Laird's Applejack, I started looking at recipes for apple pie. I kept seeing recipes that used Chinese five-spice powder, so I made a syrup out of it and added it to the cocktail.
Any advice on exploring an unfamiliar cocktail menu?
Don't write off a cocktail just because it's based on a spirit you don't usually drink. If someone had a shot of, say, Fernet and didn't like the bitterness, then they would probably avoid cocktails that include it. Unfortunately, they'd miss out on great cocktails like the Hanky Panky, which uses Fernet in small doses just as you would angostura bitters.
What's an easy way of getting seasonal flavors into cocktails at home?
Try to work in fresh herbs like mint, rosemary, basil, or thyme. They can add depth and dimension to your drink.
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As a Harvard Divinity School graduate, have you found any parallels between religion and cocktails?
Humans seek comfort in many ways, two of which are the rituals of organized religion and the rituals of social drinking. Martin Luther wrote, "Who loves not woman, wine, and song remains a fool his whole life long."