Cocktail Basics

You know you love cocktails and you're ready to start shaking and flaring away but do you really know all the basics that will make the difference between a regular cocktail and a great cocktail? It's not exactly rocket science but these are some of the most important basic elements that come with making a good cocktail and turning making a cocktail into an incredible experience every single time. 

RECIPES

First of all you need to familiarise yourself with the recipe. Read it re-read it, soak it all up. Identify the ingredients that you need and all the instruments that are needed to prepare the cocktail. Some of the recipes that you'll find tell a story about history or about the era in which the cocktail was made. Each cocktail has its specific recipe that ensures the optimal combination of ingredients for the best possible enjoyment. 
If you know the recipe by heart - good for you. If you don't - write it down. It's not worth making a mistake over. 

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INGREDIENTS
Once you have familiarised yourself with your cocktail recipe start identifying the ingredients that build this cocktail. If you do not know what is in your drink, how can you really make it? Let alone enjoy it? Sometimes ingredients can be very specific and when they cannot be substituted by anything, you simply cannot make the cocktail. There can be quite an impact if a recipe is not specific on a brand of liquor as opposed to a category. Simply put, if somebody tells you to use a Scotch whisky in a Rob Roy, and you show up with a Lagavulin or a  Laphroaig 10 Years Old Single Islay Malt Scotch Whisky as opposed to a more gentle blended whisky, it's definitely not going to be the same as an original Rob Roy, though it may still be very enjoyable. 

GLASSWARE

Recipe instruct you to use a martini glass, it is such a shame when you show up with a tumbler or a long drink. Glass wearer specifically designed to both enhance the flavour as well as the experience. Obviously the glass should be clean but what better than to enjoy a beautiful cocktail from a pretty coupe martini glass that shimmers and makes that delicate ring when you touch the edge? 

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SIZE MATTERS

There's no way about it, size simply matters. In many things in life. Especially when it comes to cocktails. 
The bigger the glass the more ingredients you need and the more expensive your drink will probably be. But for each occasion, there is a different location so to say. Check out the image below to get some standard sizes that you will come across.