chafingdish's Journal

Catering Tips - How to Mix Drinks
Catering Supplies - When you're operating a catering business, you're the head honcho. You get all the glory of a well-done event and all the satisfaction (and profits) but you also get all the responsibility. Sometimes things to go as planned and you have to done an apron and duck behind the bar to serve drinks. Whether it's to cover your staff or maybe just to have a little fun, here are some drink mixing methods to help you out behind the bar.
Blending - The blender is a fantastic tool for its versatility and overall range of use. It finds a home behind the bar for thicker drinks that need to be blended down, often because of ice content to make them smooth. This is common in margaritas and daiquiris.
Building - Building or floating drinks is another term for layering a drink with several layers of ingredients. A bartender does this to create a specific visual effect that makes the drinks appear to be sitting on one another, hence the term "floating". The key to a successful build is to pour slowly and layer the drinks in a way that starts with the heavy drinks, creams or liqueurs on the bottom leading to the lighter drinks on top.
Muddling - Muddling is another method for mixing additional ingredient into a drink. The ingredients are mashed together into a paste like form into the side of the glass before the drink is added. The Mojito is a good example of a muddled drink, where lime, sugar and mint leaves are muddled into the side with a spoon, then mixed as rum is poured into the glass.
Flaming - It really shouldn't have to be said, but it's important to note that fire is dangerous. Unless you know what you're doing, don't try to set drinks on fire. It's also not something that should be done lightly, and it's not done for show. The fire actually enriches the flavor of the drink as it burns off alcohol. If you want to learn this method, have an experienced bartender show you how.
Shaking - The way any civilized European spy drinks a martini and a variety of other drinks. Shaking is typically done to blend drinks that don't normally mix well through stirring. The drinks are added along with a generous helping of ice to help them mix. The stainless steel shaker is sealed, shaken for several seconds then poured, sometimes using a strainer depending on the drink.
Chafing Dish - Mixing the drinks is the easy part. Where many caterers struggle is in remembering the recipes. It's not always necessary though. If you're not sure how to mix a drink, ask the customer if they know the recipe for it. If not, look it up quickly online or use a drink mix app on a smartphone.

Catering supplies are a dime a dozen but if you want to impress your clients then you need each chafing dish and beverage dispenser to scream quality. You won't find premium catering equipment at big box retailers. For the best in premium quality, come to CateringEquipment.com

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