Round Guys: What Makes a Great Cocktail? Ask the Experts

Alex Liberto | Round Guys Brewing Company•

(The following is a sponsored post from Round Guys Brewing Company.)

It’s no secret that Round Guys serves up tasty cocktails. From our delicious fruit punch inspired Lansdale Hurricane to the forever pomegranate infused Purple Rain, our cocktails rival beers during special events and always serve as an interesting first date beverage.

Recently, Rachael Chauncey, Round Guys Brewing Company’s Front of House Manager, kick started a seasonal cocktail program. Chauncey focuses specifically on creating a symphony of flavors while keeping a keen eye to how customers interact with their drink.

When developing a new cocktail, Chauncey audits the Round Guys Brewing Company food menu, attempting to identify pairing combinations for her recipes. With each seasonal offering, she customizes a cocktail to match the profile of the selected spirit, extracting many inherent flavors to the surface without dousing the cocktail in artificial sweetener. She regularly incorporates fresh fruits and herbs into her recipes, avoiding syrups and mixers when possible. The end product becomes a thoroughly delightful and well-thought-out cocktail.

To dig a bit deeper into what makes a stellar cocktail, I spoke with Mike Podlogar, a cocktail specialist with local Lansdale-based distiller Boardroom Spirits. Mike’s passion for cocktails derives from a unique beginning. Driven by a deep interest in agriculture, he later discovered his passion for cocktails. As Mike suggested, cocktails often add a new dimension to a meal if you know what to pair it with.

Podlogar offered the following tips for anyone interested in creating a tasty cocktail at home:

First, assess the balance between the spirit and the mixture. A thoughtful balance is crucial when it comes to turning a subpar cocktail into a thoroughly rockstar experience. When sampling new cocktails, try to identify which flavors you tend to gravitate toward. Is it the boozy heat from a spirit-forward cocktail, or the delicate nuance of a wisely chosen herb selection?
Always keep in mind the golden triangle of core flavors: sweet, bitter, and tart. A well-balanced cocktail requires a bit of a tug-of-war between sweetness and a sourness or bitterness. You can even try adding a jalapeno on top for a spicy kick. Adding some contention to the drink helps to create the depth your cocktail needs to take it to the next level.

If you’re looking to build on your collection of cocktail staples, Podlogar suggests keeping the following on hand at home:

Demerara sugar adds a modest but not overwhelming amount of sweetness to your cocktail
Campari retains a strong bittersweet flavor, with hints of orange peel and cinnamon. (Be forewarned, campari also might be one of the most bitter liquors you can get, so use it accordingly.)
Sweet vermouth’s heartier consistency helps provide lush hints of caramel, vanilla, and darker fruit flavors.

Give it a Try at Home

A Negroni makes for an excellent starter cocktail, and a great way to practice your skills. It brings these core fundamentals together to create a truly delicious drink that won’t fail to impress friends and family. Equal parts gin, campari, and vermouth, Negronis showcase the importance of a cocktail artist’s precision and balance. This specific equal flavor composition remains crucial to a delicious Negroni.

Ingredients:

1¼ ounces of gin
1¼ ounces of Campari
1¼ ounces of sweet vermouth
Orange twist

Simple one step process: stir all the liquid ingredients with a good amount of ice. Strain the mixture into a glass filled with ice. Garnish with the orange twist for some extra pizazz.

Be sure to stop by Round Guys Brewing Company this spring to taste our delicious new “Spring Forward” cocktail featuring Boardroom Spirits Vodka infused with hints of rosemary, lemon and grapefruit. Try the recipe above for your next cocktail party and let us know what you think!

Alex Liberto is the social media manager for Round Guys Brewing Company.

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