Cocktails: Serving Drinks

Serving Drinks: How Much and How

How much liquor is one serving?

Measure your drink with a peg measure till you can measure it with your eyes.

1 small peg or serving holds 25 to 30ml and 1 large peg holds 50 to 60ml. This is the serving size for straight drinks like whisky, vodka, gin, brandy etc.

For wine, about 150 ml is a normal serving.

Port and sherry average serving is about 100ml.

Normal serving of beer is 300 ml – 500ml.

Cocktails can vary according to the drink.

Serving Size of Drinks

Peg Measure: Small= 25/30 ml, Large=50/60 ml.

Type of drinkServing SizeHow to Serve
Straight drinks like Whisky, Vodka, Gin, Brandy, RumSmall: 25/30 ml Large: 50/60 mlServed straight or with ice, water or soda or in cocktails
Red Wine150 ml is a normal servingServe at 15*C with no additions
White Wine150 ml is a normal servingServe at 9*C with no additions
Champagne100 ml.Serve at 7*C with no additions
BeerCan vary from 300 to 568 ml (a pint measure)Serve chilled with no additions
Port and SherryAverage serving is about 100 ml.Serve at room temperature with no additions
CocktailsCan vary from cocktail to cocktail: the more alcohol, the smaller the serving.Normally served chilled with ice and lots of mixers and garnishes.
LiqueursAverage serving is 50 mlServed straight or with crushed ice.

How are different drinks served?

Serve the drinks in the meant for them. But you don’t have to be rigid about it, especially for cocktails.

Wines:

Red wine should be served at 15*C.

White wine should be served chilled at 9*C

Champagne is served chilled at 7*C.

The glasses should not be cupped in the hands but be held by the stem so as not to warm the wine.

If serving mulled or warm wine, you do not use a stemmed glass.

Whisky, vodka, gin, white rum, dark rum:

These drinks can be served neat (on its own), ‘on the rocks’ (poured over ice cubes), with just a splash of water or soda. They can also be made into tall drinks or cocktails.

Beer:

Beer should be served chilled and no ice should be added to it as it waters down the taste. Since beer tends to froth while pouring, hold the glass at an angle and pour the beer down the side. Beer can be made into several cocktails.

Brandy/cognac:

 Normally an after dinner drink, brandy is served straight in a snifter. It can be served in winter with hot water and can also form the base for many cocktails.

Mixers and Garnishes:

What are mixers and garnishes?

Mixers are other drinks and flavours added to the main alcohol that forms the base of the cocktail. Normally, syrups, such as sugar and grenadine syrups, orange juice, tomato juice, pineapple and lemon juices, ginger ale, colas, are popular mixers for cocktails, as are soda, tonic, bitters, Tabasco and Worcestershire sauce.

Garnishes are decorative elements that add color to the presentation of the cocktail. Typical garnishes are slices of lemon, pineapple, preserved cherries, olives, pickled onions and so on. Use garnishes to make the drinks look festive.

One comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *