Balance in Cocktails
November 09, 2012
This post is sponsored by PAMA pomegranate liqueur.
Typically when we talk about balance in cocktails, we're talking about the balance between sweet and sour. We'll leave the talk about balance between strong and weak for another time.
The category of 'sours' in cocktails (which should really be called 'sweet and sours' but whatevs) is enormous and includes pretty much every drink with citrus juice. This includes the Margarita, Cosmopolitan, Pisco Sour, White Lady, Daiquiri, and so on.
Sour ingredients include lemon, lime, grapefruit, orange, and pomegranate juices, but other ingredients are acidic as well. Michael Lazar measured the pH of many cocktail ingredients and put them in order. I was surprised to learn how acidic the vermouths and sherries are, and it seems this is due to the grapes that comprise the base wines for them. Currently-trendy sour substitutes include shrub syrups (with a vinegar base) as well as acid phosphate, which is said to add sour sensation to a drink without the citrus flavor.
Sweet ingredients are used to balance against sour ones. These include many liqueurs (but as we can see on Lazar's chart, not all of them), plus sweetening agents including sugar, honey, maple syrup, high fructose corn syrup, molasses, and so on.
The gold standard cocktail ratio for a sour is 2:1:1, which is two parts liquor to one part each of the sweet and sour ingredients. Of course, when we use ingredients other than lime juice and 1:1 simple syrup we have to adjust those ratios.
Also, each bar has (or should have) a house ratio that they use. A few years ago in San Francisco, bartenders were making drinks so citric that you'd feel the enamel coming off your teeth when you drunk them. On the other side of the coin, bars that cater to younger drinkers tend to be heavy on the sugar. There seems to be an agreed-upon balance of cocktails for competitions (ever-so-slightly sour) but those drinks don't necessarily reflect how those same cocktails would be made at bars.
For all sours, it is important to taste the drinks and adjust the sweet and sour ratio to order.
But why would PAMA want me to write about sweet-and-sour balance in cocktails? Because their product is meant to include both in one bottle.
PAMA’s proprietary blend of all-natural pomegranate juice combined with vodka and a touch of tequila results in a delicately balanced sweet-tart flavor that holds its own when combined with any base spirit. An extremely versatile cocktail ingredient, PAMA mixes with whiskey, rum and brandy equally well as it mixes with vodka, gin and tequila.
Here is a cocktail they recommend to demonstrate the sweet and sour balance.
Hades' Temptation
Dash of Simple Syrup
Dash of Fresh Lemon Juice
1/2 oz. Citrus Vodka
1/2 oz. PAMA Pomegranate
Directions: Combine all ingredients in a shaker. Add ice and shake vigorously. Strain into chilled cocktail glass rimmed with sugar.
this how i do it:
i count the sweetness and bitterness like this: +1/2 measure of sweet for liqueurs,+1 for syrups and molasses,+3/4 for cordials,0 has neutral for spirits,-1/2 for passion fruit,-1-for lime juice or lemon,0-passion fruit puree,etc.
then you have to count it has how much you place it in the glass.its obvious, more measures you place from sweet ingredients the sweeter will become.the drink has to be compatible with almost all same numbers.
eg: a drink that has this ingredients:
37.5 ml vodka
25.0 ml creme de peach liqueur
12.5 ml palm sugar syrup
25.0 ml lemon juice
50.0 ml orange juice
(vodka is neutral=0 and creme de peach is sweet=+1/2,palm sugar is +1 and orange juice is=+1/2 making a total of +2 of sweetness against-1 from lemon juice, making the drink +1 too sweet,,the secret now is to add -1 unit of sour just like lemon juice or taking some units from the sweetness, just like removing 25.0 ml of orange juice and 12.5 ml from creme de peach depending who you want to sacrifice,,,, this is how i right my cocktails even before i make them and the result is not far out from the reality,sometimes you get it right by 90%, if the drink gets well balanced but somehow is too strong,then add cold water to smooth it out.
Posted by: helder filipe | March 11, 2015 at 06:05 PM
so many mistakes,,this is what happens when you write after 3 am, my time in europe.if there is some people who doesnt understand this text,please do let me know and i will write a new one.
sorry guys.
helder filipe
Posted by: helder filipe | March 11, 2015 at 06:10 PM
That's a really interesting way to do it! Thank you for posting it.
Posted by: Camper English | March 12, 2015 at 11:16 AM
If you could that'd be awesome.
Posted by: Dion | April 10, 2016 at 08:39 PM
this how i do it:you need to count the sweetness and bitterness as the same values,like this: +1/2 measure of sweet for liqueurs(and the reason is because liqueurs have alcohol content and there for are not as sweet as syrups),+1 for syrups and molasses(because they are extremely sweet with 1:1 dilution(one part water/1 part sugar),then +3/4 for cordials(because they are sweeter than liqueurs but not sweeter than syrups),0-has neutral for spirits(since they contain almost no sugar or acidity). now you do the reverse:-1/2 for passion fruit(its sour but not that sour because his sweetness),-1-for lime juice or lemon( since they are the crown of the sour),0-passion fruit puree(because they contain has much sugar has they contain sour since almost all purees have at least an add of 10 % sugar),etc.
then you have to count it has how much you place it in the glass.its obvious, more measures you place from sweet ingredients the sweeter will become.the drink has to be compatible with almost all same numbers, which means,,the negatives points have to become the same has the positives points(negative has being sour and positive has being sweet)
eg: a drink that has this ingredients:
37.5 ml vodka
25.0 ml creme de peach liqueur
12.5 ml palm sugar syrup
25.0 ml lemon juice
50.0 ml orange juice
(vodka is neutral=0 and creme de peach is sweet=+1/2,palm sugar is +1 and orange juice is=+1/2 making a total of +2 of sweetness against-1 from lemon juice, making the drink +1 too sweet,,the secret now is to add -1 unit of sour just like lemon juice or taking some units from the sweetness, just like removing 25.0 ml of orange juice and 12.5 ml from creme de peach depending who you want to sacrifice,,,, this is how i Wright my cocktails even before i make them and the result is not far out from the reality itself,sometimes you get it right by 90%,and usually the drink gets well balanced but if sometimes its too strong on booze because you did sacrifice sweet or the sour elements,then add cold water to smooth it out or do a dilution of syrup of 1 part sugar and 2 part water and it will work. dont forget,any conflicts that exists between spirits and liqueurs, do exist because the percentage is somehow to big. a few drops of liqueur/flavoured syrups/purees or infusions will initially be added to the spirit,being the spirit the main subject of the cocktail,,,then slowly add more drops and keep trying until a conflict appears,then you know you have to stop.that way will do the trick.loads of time when there is a conflict between 2 ingredientes, i find to add a third ingredient rather than removing it, and sometimes you need the right DNA connection to make a perfect menage á troi. look at apple puree combined with pear puree(they are horrible),,now combine those 2 ingredients with elderflower cordial,,,,,you have the best explosion in flavours, its like figs with goat cheese,,,once you had cinnamon then you become a winner.some people might find this recipes a little bit sweet and some other a bit sour,,it all depends what country you from and if you like sweets a lot or prefer sours,,,,,then just do the equations accordingly to your taste. you can place sugar syrup has +2 instead of +1,,,but one way or the other, this is a great way to combine the perfect combination between sour and sweet. any other comment i would be pleased to help
Posted by: helder filipe | April 15, 2016 at 06:50 AM
this how i do it:you need to count the sweetness and bitterness as the same values,like this: +1/2 measure of sweet for liqueurs(and the reason is because liqueurs have alcohol content and there for are not as sweet as syrups),+1 for syrups and molasses(because they are extremely sweet with 1:1 dilution(one part water/1 part sugar),then +3/4 for cordials(because they are sweeter than liqueurs but not sweeter than syrups),0-has neutral for spirits(since they contain almost no sugar or acidity). now you do the reverse:-1/2 for passion fruit(its sour but not that sour because his sweetness),-1-for lime juice or lemon( since they are the crown of the sour),0-passion fruit puree(because they contain has much sugar has they contain sour since almost all purees have at least an add of 10 % sugar),etc.
then you have to count it has how much you place it in the glass.its obvious, more measures you place from sweet ingredients the sweeter will become.the drink has to be compatible with almost all same numbers, which means,,the negatives points have to become the same has the positives points(negative has being sour and positive has being sweet)
eg: a drink that has this ingredients:
37.5 ml vodka
25.0 ml creme de peach liqueur
12.5 ml palm sugar syrup
25.0 ml lemon juice
50.0 ml orange juice
(vodka is neutral=0 and creme de peach is sweet=+1/2,palm sugar is +1 and orange juice is=+1/2 making a total of +2 of sweetness against-1 from lemon juice, making the drink +1 too sweet,,the secret now is to add -1 unit of sour just like lemon juice or taking some units from the sweetness, just like removing 25.0 ml of orange juice and 12.5 ml from creme de peach depending who you want to sacrifice,,,, this is how i Wright my cocktails even before i make them and the result is not far out from the reality itself,sometimes you get it right by 90%,and usually the drink gets well balanced but if sometimes its too strong on booze because you did sacrifice sweet or the sour elements,then add cold water to smooth it out or do a dilution of syrup of 1 part sugar and 2 part water and it will work. dont forget,any conflicts that exists between spirits and liqueurs, do exist because the percentage is somehow to big. a few drops of liqueur/flavoured syrups/purees or infusions will initially be added to the spirit,being the spirit the main subject of the cocktail,,,then slowly add more drops and keep trying until a conflict appears,then you know you have to stop.that way will do the trick.loads of time when there is a conflict between 2 ingredientes, i find to add a third ingredient rather than removing it, and sometimes you need the right DNA connection to make a perfect menage á troi. look at apple puree combined with pear puree(they are horrible),,now combine those 2 ingredients with elderflower cordial,,,,,you have the best explosion in flavours, its like figs with goat cheese,,,once you had cinnamon then you become a winner.some people might find this recipes a little bit sweet and some other a bit sour,,it all depends what country you from and if you like sweets a lot or prefer sours,,,,,then just do the equations accordingly to your taste. you can place sugar syrup has +2 instead of +1,,,but one way or the other, this is a great way to combine the perfect combination between sour and sweet. any other comment i would be pleased to help
Posted by: helder | April 15, 2016 at 07:05 AM
Hi Filipe,
How much is one unit excactly?
regards
Posted by: Gert-Jan Vermeire | November 25, 2016 at 01:54 AM