Mother Knows Best.

There are exactly five "mother" sauces in classical cuisine. 

These are: 

Bechamel (milk, flower, butter) 

Veloute (simmered white stock aka-chicken, pork, seafood with roux (flour and butter) 

Hollandaise (clarified butter with egg yolks)

Espangnole (basic brown stock thickened with roux-aka brown gravy)

And

Tomate/Red sauce (classic tomato sauce with roux)

These five sauces are ones that every chef worth his salt should know and be adept enough to make well. 

These are root sauces, and the sauces for which all other sauces and gravies are made. If you know these, much like Latin root words-you can make any number of creative and complimentary sauces for any dish. It's a beautiful thing. 

The same can be said for cocktails. 

There are approximately six mother cocktails, and once you master these-all other cocktails and mixed drinks should come easy to you. Basic bartending 1o1. 

Now, to some these mother cocktails might seem antiquated, and "retro" and truth be told, they probably are. But any mixologist worth their salt-just like a chef, only behind the rail, knows how to make any of these with ease-and can make any other drink using these simple recipes as a base. 

Oh...you want to know the mother cocktails? 

Patience is a virtue-it wouldn't be a blog without the obligatory lengthy explanations prior. 

I'll make you a deal, however. Going forward-when posting an actual recipe-I'll be sure to be brief-OR post the verbiage below the recipe as not to waste your time. Because cooking and recipe blogs that do this, are mucho annoying. Even to me. 

So without further ado-the "mother" cocktails. 

1. The Martini. Gin or Vodka. 

These are 1.5 oz of either preferred spirit, a splash of dry vermouth, and a garnish of choice. A twist of citrus, an olive, or a pearl onion-which makes the drink a "Gibson" martini based on the garnish alone. The onion completely changes the flavor profile, whereas, the others do not. So, it gets its own name. You can serve this on the rocks, or UP-which means shaken in a metal mixer cup and served frosty and cold without ice. 

There are thousands of martinis. From Cosmo, to key lime. You can virtually flavor these and garnish these as creatively as you like, and branch so many drinks off of just one mixer. 

Served in either a martini glass or a rocks glass. 

2. The Collins/Sours. 

A basic Tom Collins is another Gin drink. But falls under a highball, and not a martini. It also has mixers-and not JUST straight alcohol like an authentic martini. A Collins is 2 oz. gin, 1 oz. simple syrup (sugar syrup which is just reduced sugar and water) a splash of lemon juice, and a float (top-off-more on the lingo later) of soda water (non-flavored seltzer) NOT to be confused with tonic water. 

Sours are virtually the same thing, only with bourbon and the use of a pre-bottled sweet and sour mix-which is the same thing as the citrus, and simple syrup above. A whiskey sour-for example is 1.5 oz of whiskey or bourbon, fill with sweet and sour mix, or simple syrup and lemon juice (your taste buds will thank you for the authenticity) and garnished with a maraschino cherry, a lemon slice, and a few drops of juice. Sours can be made with virtually any alcohol, however. They are an outstanding summer cocktail with tequila or vodka. 

Served in a Collins glass 

(See the slight pink color at the bottom? That's the cherry juice)

3. The Manhattan. 

This is a classic. Actually-outside of the martini-it is THE classic craft cocktail. It's sweet, boozy, and delicious if you like that sort of thing. I know what you are thinking, you are thinking: this is what the old men at the country club drink-yuck. No. Stop that. This is a sophisticated root drink, that looks lovely, and pairs with almost any cuisine. It makes a great apertif, or after dinner drink. It has a dessert quality to it, but works-so fine-with a rare cut of good steak. 

A Manhattan is 1.5 oz of good bourbon/rye whiskey, a splash of sweet vermouth, a dash of aromatics. (bitters) and a tiny splash/float of maraschino cherry juice. Garnish with three cherries on a sword. For a "perfect" Manhattan-use equal parts whiskey and vermouth. You can serve this on the rocks, or UP-same as the martini. They are very similar boozy cocktails-they just use different alcohol and sweet vermouth rather than dry. Where the martini was meant as a more savory or neutral tasting drink-this one is meant as a sweet. It's the prodigal son. 

Served in a martini glass or an old fashioned/rocks glass. 

4. The Old Fashioned. 

This is an offshoot of a classic Manhattan-boozy, with more additions and more complicated bartending knowledge.
The classic Old fashioned is 1.5 oz of bourbon, A splash of sweet vermouth, aromatics muddled with an orange twist, a teaspoon of water, and a teaspoon of refined sugar.
Garnished with a cinnamon stick, another orange twist around the rim of the glass, and a maraschino cherry. 

Served in a old fashioned glass. 

5. The multi-liquor drink

These are knock you on your ass cocktails. The college set loves them. The grown ups in the room typically avoid. But in the right circumstances-work well if you want just one drink and are not planning to belly up all night long. They lend a proper buzz, taste great (if mixed well) and can be fun-every once in awhile. 
A good example of these are:
Mai Tai
Alabama Slammer
Long Island Iced Tea
Long Beach Tea
Zombie

A Long Island Iced Tea is the most widely known-so we'll start with this recipe. If mixed correctly-this tastes great to folks who actually like the taste of alcohol. However, in my experience it is deceptive-as it does NOT taste like a cold glass of iced tea, as advertised. 
A Long Island Iced Tea is every white liquor out of your speed rack, (rail booze) or-from the "well" Again...we'll cover the lingo later. The well is the cheap stuff at arms reach. 
1/2 oz gin, vodka, white rum, white tequila, triple sec. 
A float of sweet and sour mix, and a second float of cola from the gun-with a lemon slice garnish. The cola add sweetness and also give it the "tea" color and look. 

Served in a large glass-can be a small hurricane glass, a large pilsner glass, A Collins Glass, or a pint glass. 

6. The tropical/blended/Ice Cream Dessert drinks

These are what most people would call "frou-frou" drinks. Consumed by amateurs around the world. Or those who don't really like the taste of alcohol, or want to be social. 
The reason for the stigma? Because these are all flavor. These tropical fruit drinks and after dinner boozy "slushies" are a favorite among younger females and grannies. 
I'm not saying there is anything wrong with that-I, myself, consider these a favorite. But-it is what it is. 
There are many variations of these, but the basic are as follows:

Blenders: (ice)
The Pina Colada-Rum
The Margarita-Tequila
The Daquiri-Rum

Ice Cream: (Vanilla ice cream)
The Grasshopper-Green Creme De Menthe/De Cocao
The Brandy Alexander-Brandy
The Pink Squirrel-De Cocao. 

The favorite here is obviously the margarita, so we'll start with that. A margarita can be served on the rocks as well, and both are terribly popular in warmer weather. But, the blended version is a good example here. 
1.5 oz tequila or anejo, 1 oz triple sec, float with sweet and sour, and fresh lime juice-blend with ice until slush consistency. Garnish with a course salt rim and a lime wheel. 

Serve in a margarita or large martini glass. 

And that-my curious cocktail friends, are the mother cocktails. If you know these-you can make any drink from the root of  these standard ingredients, garnishes, and mixers. 

There's going to be a quiz later-so, make sure you study. 

No, I'm not kidding. 

Until then, if you want to learn the art, this is where to start. For any basic beginner level tending-this is your bible. 

Hope this encouraged you, and gives you a great start. 

Watch for another post tomorrow-where we will talk about bar lingo, so you are up on all of the verbiage and so you know what in the hell I am talking about when I get super bartendery... (not a word, I know, but you get the jist) 

Have a great night all and happy concocting. 

Go practice. You get to drink your mistakes. Win-win. 

XOXO,

T