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Mojito, the original recipe by Giovanni Ceccarelli.

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In this article we'll be discussing the recipe for making a Mojito and preparation methods, with particular attention to the ingredients. Discover how to properly prepare the most famous and disputed drink in the World.

I say disputed because you will no doubt have discussed either with a customer, the bar owner or your colleagues about the best way to prepare it. Do you use raw cane sugar or white sugar? Should the lime be squeezed or muddled? Should the ice be whole or crushed? And above all: do you need Yerba Buena to make a good Mojito? (Without anyone actually knowing what Yerba Buena is.)

The discussion often gets quite heated, neither of the two discussing the issue can convince the other, and it's not unusual to hear statements like "I have a Cuban friend who explained to me how to prepare the REAL Mojito', as if being a Cuban is a sufficient reason for knowing how to make an exceptional Mojito. Personally, I believe that the only professional thing to do is to study and know the ingredients and their characteristics in-depth, so you can use them to your advantage and help you achieve the desired result. Scientific knowledge has become, rightly so, a fundamental part of the mixing industry and allows you to create unmatched drinks.
The Mojito is a refreshing, low in alcohol content and slightly sparkling drink.

3cl of lemon juice

2 bar spoons of white sugar

2 mint sprigs (only the part that has leaves, discard the rest)

5cl of cuban ron (Havana 3)

ice cubes (fill the glass)

very cold sparkling water;

How do you prepare a great Mojito?

In a glass with capacity ranging between 35 and 39cl, squeeze 2cl of lime juice (about half a lime) with a lime squeezer or, if you don't have one, with a citrus squeezer. It is preferable to use only the lime's juice, better if squeezed on the spot. The reason being that the lime's juice is needed to give the drink acidity (thus freshness), whereas crushing the lime (as long as it's done properly) extracts the lime peel oils as well and will give the drink an aromatic complexity, risking to dominate the mint's oils, which are much more delicate and difficult to extract (if you must insist on using the peel's aroma I recommend using oleo saccharum). If you squeeze the lime in advance and want to preserve it as best as possible, click here to read my preservation tips.

Add two bar spoons of white sugar. This ingredient is needed to sweeten, or rather mitigate the lime's acidity and not to aromatize the drink like partially refined (raw) cane sugar would, which, with its molasses flavor, could cover the delicate mint aromas. Raw cane sugar eliminates freshness! You can use both white cane sugar and white beet sugar because they are the same thing: pure sucrose (if you don't believe it, read my article by clicking here).

Choosing the right mint is very important. The mint used in Cuba, commonly known as Yerba Buena, is Mentha x Villosa var. nemorosa. Unfortunately, it is quite difficult to find (but not impossible!) and to recognize, because there are thousands of mint species and many of them resemble each other. Fortunately we don't have to worry too much because there are alternatives available. To find out which mint to choose click here. From a technical point of view it is crucial not to crush the mint, unless you are trying to make pesto Genovese (italian pasta sauce whit basil). Essential oils are contained in the glandular trichomes, which are found on the lower side of the leaf: crushing serves no purpose, just muddle it slightly with the bar spoon!

After dissolving the sugar in the lime juice (sugar does not dissolve well in alcohol, you may wish to add a drop of soda) add the mint and cuban ron and, with the back of the bar spoon, gently muddle the mint against the walls of the glass. It is important to work the mint in the rum because the essential oils (see carvone) are soluble in alcohol yet not very soluble in water. If you add ice first, you won't be able to work the mint in the spirit and the flavouring will be very bland.

Another sour note is the ice. Starting from the assumption that every ingredient (and ice is an ingredient) has its own function, it is easy to understand that you should use whole ice! Mojito is a drink that doesn't need to be diluted because it already contains a lot of soda (sparkling water) so it is useless to use crushed ice. In addition, the crushed (or cracked) ice has an upper surface (with equal mass) and causes greater CO2 leak: as a result, we will end up making a watered down and non-sparkling drink.

Soda is nothing more than sparkling water. In order to maintain this feature in the Mojito I recommend using it quite cold (reverse solubility, find out more here) and pour it gently into the drink.

I hope this article and its insights were of help to you. I'd like to conclude by saying that it is not said, at all, that a Mojito prepared in this way can please everyone, even though this is the best way to work the ingredients and it's the traditional Cuban preparation method. The taste remains subjective; nevertheless, in order to avoid confusion, it's worth highlighting that this is THE Mojito, the others are variants.

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Giovanni Ceccarelli is the creator and coordinator of the Cocktail Engineering project and owner of the blog. To pay for his university studies, since 2007, he works as a bartender in several bars between Pesaro, Fano and the "Riviera Romagnola" (Italy). In 2010 he graduated in Energy Engineering but soon has realized that this was not the job he wanted to do. Since 2011, he has been a Drink Factory trainer. He teaches in Advanced Mixology and Home-Made Preparations courses. From 2013, he writes about science and cocktails on Fabio Bacchi's BarTales magazine. From 2016, he is a consultant for Vargros for whom he selects spices and other ingredients.

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Mojito: Recipe and Ingredients | Giovanni Ceccarelli

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In this article we'll be discussing the recipe for making a Mojito and preparation methods, with particular attention to the ingredients. Discover how to properly prepare the most famous and disputed drink in the World. I say disputed because you will no doubt have discussed either with a customer, the bar owner or your colleagues about the best way to prepare it.

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Giovanni Ceccarelli shows us the recipe of the negroni.

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In this article I will explain how to make a perfect Negroni from the choice of ingredients to the right mixing technique!

Negroni is one of the most famous Italian drinks in the world. It was mixed for the first time in 1919 by the bartender Fosco Scarselli, at Caffè Casoni (later Giacosa caffè) in Florence, at the request of Count Camillo Negroni. The Count, not satisfied with the Americano ( click here to find out the recipe), asked Fosco to add some gin to it. If you want to read the story of this drink, I suggest you to read 'Sulle tracce del Conte', a book written by Luca Picchi (in Italian).

This drink is an excellent aperitif, with a strong aromatic flavour and sustained alcohol content.

Negroni recipe:
- 3 cl bitter Campari;
- 3 cl red vermouth;
- 3cl London dry gin;
- peel or slice of orange.

How to make the Negroni:
Many believe that to make a Negroni you just have to pour the ingredients over ice. I do not agree because this way the drink is too alcoholic.

Let's see how to prepare a perfect Negroni.

In a 27cl small tumbler pour Campari, vermouth and gin. Add ice time without filling the glass. Stir to dilute the cocktail. Once you reach the desired dilution (taste!) add more ice and decorate with a slice of orange. Dilution in a Negroni is crucial because it lowers the alcohol content of this aperitif, making it more enjoyable. In addition, the stirring also lowers the temperature.

It is not wrong to add soda water however I recommend doing so only at customer's request.

A personal touch:
As I always say, recipes are guidelines and not laws. I personally do not prepare the Negroni in equal parts, but I'm going to balance the recipe according to the ingredients I use: not all bitter, vermut and gin are the same!

My Negroni is in these proportions: 3cl of Campari, 4cl of vermouth and 2cl of London dry gin. Instead of the orange slice I prefer the peel: an orange twist is perfect.

One last thing: In Italy no one uses a 27cl tumbler. Almost everyone uses a 35cl glass. In these glasses I increase the quantity of each product according.

How to choose the ingredients:
The Negroni is very good mixed with Campari, however, no one will forbid you to try it with other bitter liquors. Some are more delicate, others are more bitter and dry. You can try the bitter liquors made by Berto, Gagliardo, Rossi d'Angera, Martini, Nardini, Carlo Alberto, Poli, Negroni, Luxardo, Pallini.

You can also try a different sweet vermut: Carpano, Berto, Cocchi, Macchia, del Professore, Martelletti, Carlo Alberto and the new vermut produced by Martini and Cinzano (not all products of these companies are vermut) and many many more!

As for gin, I prefer to use a London Dry Gin. Beefeater, Tanqueray and Gordon's are great.

Happy mixing,
Giovanni

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Giovanni Ceccarelli is the creator and coordinator of the Cocktail Engineering project and owner of the blog. To pay for his university studies, since 2007, he works as a bartender in several bars between Pesaro, Fano and the "Riviera Romagnola" (Italy). In 2010 he graduated in Energy Engineering but soon has realized that this was not the job he wanted to do. Since 2011, he has been a Drink Factory trainer. He teaches in Advanced Mixology and Home-Made Preparations courses. From 2013, he writes about science and cocktails on Fabio Bacchi's BarTales magazine. From 2016, he is a consultant for Vargros for whom he selects spices and other ingredients.

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Negroni: Recipe and Ingredients | Giovanni Ceccarelli

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In this article I will explain how to make a perfect Negroni from the choice of ingredients to the right mixing technique! Negroni is one of the most famous Italian drinks in the world. It was mixed for the first time in 1919 by the bartender Fosco Scarselli, at Caffè Casoni (later Giacosa caffè) in Florence, at the request of Count Camillo Negroni.

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The recipe of the moscow mule by Cocktail Engineering.

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Moscow Mule is a long drink based on vodka, ginger beer and lime juice, nowadays very popular. In this article, you'll find the recipe and the preparation technique of this refreshing cocktail.

Moscow Mule recipe:
- 5cl Vodka;
- 1.5cl juice of lime;
- 10cl Ginger beer *.

- Lime squeezer;
- Jigger;
- Barspoon;
- Glass or copper mug of 35 / 39cl.

* Ginger beer is a ginger, non-alcoholic, spicy soda. The most common brands are Old Jamaica, Gosling's, Fever tree, Thomas Henry and Schweppes.

Directions
In a tall tumbler (or a copper mug) full of ice, pour the vodka and lime juice. At this point, gently pour the ginger beer until you fill the glass (about 10cl). Mix gently and decorate with a lime peel or fresh mint

What can go wrong?
After reading the recipe and the directions, the question that arises spontaneously is: in a seemingly so simple cocktail, what is really the difference between a good or bad result?
Let's try to understand it together.
First, the lime juice must be fresh, squeezed at the moment or, if not, stored in the fridge and used within a few hours.

You should also pay attention when you pour the ginger beer: it is necessary that the ice occupies all the glass volume and doesn't start floating when pouring the soda. If this happens, we will have an unbalanced drink towards the non-alcoholic side (we poured too much ginger beer) and it will not be cold in a uniform manner.

The ginger beer must be cold (to limit the melting of ice) and must be poured not too far away from the glass, to avoid bumps that would lead to loss of carbonation (click here to deepen the soda topic).

Cucumber or cucumber not, that's the dilemma?
Regarding the cucumber issue, I don't make it melodramatic. I am aware that in the original recipe, it is not contemplated but, let's say the truth, the cucumber fits just fine in this drink that otherwise would have little personality.

Happy mixing,
Giovanni

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Giovanni Ceccarelli is the creator and coordinator of the Cocktail Engineering project and owner of the blog. To pay for his university studies, since 2007, he works as a bartender in several bars between Pesaro, Fano and the "Riviera Romagnola" (Italy). In 2010 he graduated in Energy Engineering but soon has realized that this was not the job he wanted to do. Since 2011, he has been a Drink Factory trainer. He teaches in Advanced Mixology and Home-Made Preparations courses. From 2013, he writes about science and cocktails on Fabio Bacchi's BarTales magazine. From 2016, he is a consultant for Vargros for whom he selects spices and other ingredients.

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How to make a perfect Moscow Mule | Cocktail Engineering

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Moscow Mule is a long drink based on vodka, ginger beer and lime juice, nowadays very popular. In this article, you'll find the recipe and the preparation technique of this refreshing cocktail. Moscow Mule recipe: - 5cl Vodka; - 1.5cl juice of lime; - 10cl Ginger beer *.

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Giovanni Ceccarelli presents the original recipe of the pina colada.

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Before understanding how to make a Pina Colada, you need to be clear that this drink isn't a frozen drink in a strict sense, even though it's prepared with a blender.

Gianni Zottola, a friend, colleague and expert in tropical beverages and tiki drinks, wrote the following about Pina Coladas in the BarTales magazine (No. 1, Year II - September 2014): "A Pina Colada can definitely be considered one of the most confused, unstructured and distorted drinks in the history of mixing. [...] made meaningless, underrated and disregarded though it is one of the most valuable and historic tropical drinks, and has become increasingly difficult and detestable to drink. " I recommend you follow this link if you're interested in reading his full article (italian language).

Since I don't deal with history, but techniques and ingredients, I'll explain how to make a Pina Colada worthy of this name.

Recipe of the Pina Colada:

9 cl of fresh pineapple juice;

3 cl of coconut cream;

1 cl of lime juice;

5 cl of white Cuban ron;

a generous pinch of salt (optional);

half a scoop of crushed ice.

The quantities can vary depending on one's personal taste.

The fresh pineapple juice is not what you buy at the super market: regardless of the brand, in this case, it should not be used. I have nothing against these products, which I regularly use at home, but fresh products must be used when making drinks. The best way to get fresh pineapple juice is through a slow juicer. This instrument, which turns very slowly while pressing the fruit, extracts a juice that is much richer in taste. A centrifuge is hardly acceptable. I use juice, not pineapple pulp, to avoid that unpleasant stratification in the drink once it is poured into the glass.

Coconut cream is nothing more than coconut milk and sugar. Unlike most common coconut syrups, coconut milk gives this preparation a more creamy consistency and a fuller flavour. I would recommend, for quality/price/availability, the coconut cream produced by the Italian company Naty's or by Coco Lopez. The function of this ingredient is to bring sugar and coconut flavour to the drink. Coconut liquors such as (Malibù, Batida de coco) must absolutely be avoided.

The lime juice, freshly squeezed with a citrus squeezer, is needed to give some acidity to the drink, otherwise the Pina Colada is likely to be made too sweet. I use varying amounts depending on the taste of the pineapple and the coconut I use. I've never gone beyond using more than 1.5 cl.

As far as the ron is concerned I use Havana 3 because it's clear yet it has a full flavour. The rum used is clearly a personal choice, however I suggest you avoid dark rum: it's too sweet and rich in molasses. Do not overdo it with the amount of alcohol because it hampers the formation of foam (keep reading!).

Salt isn't necessary, but a pinch exalts the flavour.

The ice must absolutely be crushed if you prepare this tropical drink with a blender. The recommended amount is half a scoop, so that it all melts, and cools the drink without diluting it too much. If you want you can serve the drink over new ice.

Now that we've analyzed each ingredient, we can prepare the drink.

Pour all the ingredients (the ice in last) into a blender. Blend for 20-25 seconds. If you used the right amount of ice, everything should melt.
I prefer an immersion blender rather than the classic blender because it allows me to adjust the amount of foam that forms on the drink. Starting at the bottom I blend and dissolve the ice, then, rising and remaining at the limit of the liquid's surface, I let air enter the drink which forms the foam. The foam is formed because inside the pineapple there is gum made up mainly of polysaccharides called galactomannans (Chenchin, Yamamoto - Isolation, characterization and enzymic hydrolysis of pineapple gum). If you'd like to know more about pineapples click here.

This helps us understand why this drink is not a frozen drink and why it can't contain too much alcohol: in either case it would limit the formation of foam making it flat and not as pleasing. However, many bars prefer to sell it as a frozen drink, yet in doing so the foam's texture is lost: this is not to be considered a mistake, rather a choice when mixing.

One last bit of advice: Pina Coladas are also excellent when shaken (with ice cubes).

Happy Mixing,
Giovanni

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Giovanni Ceccarelli is the creator and coordinator of the Cocktail Engineering project and owner of the blog. To pay for his university studies, since 2007, he works as a bartender in several bars between Pesaro, Fano and the "Riviera Romagnola" (Italy). In 2010 he graduated in Energy Engineering but soon has realized that this was not the job he wanted to do. Since 2011, he has been a Drink Factory trainer. He teaches in Advanced Mixology and Home-Made Preparations courses. From 2013, he writes about science and cocktails on Fabio Bacchi's BarTales magazine. From 2016, he is a consultant for Vargros for whom he selects spices and other ingredients.

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Pina Colada: Recipe and Ingredients | Giovanni Ceccarelli

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Before understanding how to make a Pina Colada, you need to be clear that this drink isn't a frozen drink in a strict sense, even though it's prepared with a blender. Gianni Zottola, a friend, colleague and expert in tropical beverages and tiki drinks, wrote the following about Pina Coladas in the BarTales magazine (No.

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The original recipe of the caipirinha by Giovanni Ceccarelli.

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Caipirinha is a Brazilian symbol. In this article, you'll find the Caipirinha recipe and, in detail, the preparation method, with attention to the ingredients.

Caipirinha is a summer drink, easy to make, has few ingredients, and can be customized with fresh fruit (a must is with the passion fruit). The main ingredient of this drink is Cachaça, a Brazilian sugar cane spirit. Cachaça is my favourite spirit for its herbaceous and pungent notes.

Ingredients:
- Medium size lime;
- 2 barspoons of white sugar;
- 6cl (2oz) of Cachaça.

Preparation:
First wash the lime in water and bicarbonate thoroughly, rinse and dry with a cloth. Often the lime has a non-edible skin and finding untreated ones can be really hard. Wash and dry them well to help remove dirt and products used for storage during transport. If you want to read my article on limes, click here.

Now, with a sharpened knife, remove the petioles of the lime, cut it halfway through the long side, remove the central white part with a V cut, and cut the lime into 6 cubes. Removing the central white part is crucial because it can have a bitter taste and, once removed, the limes will release more juice.

In a 35cl glass put the lime cubes and the two barspoons of white sugar. Remember that white cane sugar and white beet sugar are the same thing: sucrose. Discover more about sure clicking here.

With the muddler, muddle everything to get the juice and precious essential lime skin oils out. Muddling the lime serves mainly to make the oils run out and not the juice. If we wanted only the juice we would have used a lime squeezer. If you smell the glass now you will feel the strong scent of lime skin.

At this point, after dissolving the sugar by quickly mixing with the barspoons, add the Cachaça. As you see, it is good to add the spirit before the ice, but after dissolving the sugar. Adding the spirit after dissolving the sugar is important because the latter does not dissolve in alcohol, while adding Cachaça before the ice is important to "capture" the essential oils, extremely volatile, extracted from the skin.

Finally add the crushed ice, mix and serve with a straw. The Caipirinha is ready.

I prefer crushed ice because it cools the drink and dilutes it faster.

Errors to avoid:
In many bars, before serving, the "muddled bases" are prepared, that is, the pieces of lime and sugar are stacked in advance. This is a practice to avoid absolutely, because it leads to the oxidation of lime juice and the loss of essential oils. If you don't believe us, try to make a Caipirinha with limes muddled at the moment and a Caipirinha with a base prepared 1h in advance. Or try to muddle lime and sugar, sniff the glass immediately and smell it again after half an hour.

If you are a workplace with big volumes of work and you cannot give up these drinks, I suggest you read my article on how to speed up the preparation of drinks without altering their quality.

One last thought: you do not need to be Brazilian to make a good Caipirinha, what you need is to study ingredients, techniques and taste (always!). The nationality of the bartender or the country where you drink a certain drink is not enough to make a good drink. Think about how many nasty cappuccinos you drink in Italy (and I am Italian).

Happy Mixing,
Giovanni

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Giovanni Ceccarelli is the creator and coordinator of the Cocktail Engineering project and owner of the blog. To pay for his university studies, since 2007, he works as a bartender in several bars between Pesaro, Fano and the "Riviera Romagnola" (Italy). In 2010 he graduated in Energy Engineering but soon has realized that this was not the job he wanted to do. Since 2011, he has been a Drink Factory trainer. He teaches in Advanced Mixology and Home-Made Preparations courses. From 2013, he writes about science and cocktails on Fabio Bacchi's BarTales magazine. From 2016, he is a consultant for Vargros for whom he selects spices and other ingredients.

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How to make a Caipirinha | Cocktail Engineering

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Caipirinha is a Brazilian symbol. In this article, you'll find the Caipirinha recipe and, in detail, the preparation method, with attention to the ingredients. Caipirinha is a summer drink, easy to make, has few ingredients, and can be customized with fresh fruit (a must is with the passion fruit).