General Information
Fancy drinks may be decorated with fruits in season. Always wash ice and fruit, and avoid touching with the fingers. Use tongs for the ice and a spoon or fork for fruit.
Rinse the glass quickly with hot water before pouring in a hot drink. This is desirable partly to avoid cracking the glass, and partly to keep the drink realy hot. A spoon should also be placed in the glass before filling. Shaved ice should be used with spirits when no water is added; ice-cubes are preferable in drinks in which milk, eggs, vermouth, wine, seltzer or mineral water are the ingredients. Ice is used in the latter type of drink only when mixing; it is removed before serving.
As sugar does not dissolve quickly in spirits, always melt in a little water (either hot or cold, depending on the drink) before adding the liquor. If sufficient finely shaved ice is used in mixing cold drinks this rule need not be followed. Syrup may be used in cocktails instead of powdered sugar.
In making up drinks consisting of milk or eggs or both and hot spirits or wine, be careful to pour the wine or spirits very slowly over the milk and eggs, and stir the latter constantly while pouring. This will prevent curdling of the mixture.
Serving Cocktails
You will of course never have your cocktail glass more than three quarters full (and you’ll find it quite a job to keep it that way).
Always hold the glass by the stem, for the heat of your hand will take the edge off that icy chill that means so much and which, by the way, can be insured by chilling the glass before serving.
Selections from the book “Cocktail-Ology. Being a Compendium of the Best Drinks. Judiciously Sampled and Set Down by Count Benvenito Martini, Connoisseur Extraordinaire. Published by Litho-Craft Press Corp., 1916”
