"curiosity, experimentation and risk-taking are key to discovery in life, science and in cocktails"
a university teacher's account of his discovery of cocktails
WHAT YOU NEED TO GET STARTED
It doesn't take much to begin mixing your own cocktails. Being in the mood helps, a few spirits, bitters, sugar, ice, a shaker and good company will get you on the right track.
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Starting to teach at a university on the other hand is considerably more laborious and requires serendipity to do its work. If that isn't enough: conceiving a new lecture can be arduous, possibly frustrating and enormously time-consuming. A single very well-planed two-hour lecture can easily take 50 to 60 hours of prep time.
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Below are some tools that will help you get startet with mixing cocktails. A teachers tale on the how-to of teaching would be too long and beyond the scope of this blog such that I'll limit myself to anecdotal impressions.
SHAKER
A tighly sealable vessel for agitation of ice and spirits.
SPIRITS
Specialty drinks can be a headache to come by. I will thus try to keep it simple. A bottle of good gin, vodka, rum, Maraschino, vermouth and some dry and some sparkling wine should get you started. As for cooking, the quality of the ingredients makes all the difference.
BITTERS
Anything that tastes bitter may be useful. Vermouth and Angostura bitters are classics. But if you are open minded you can also try sage, coffee, bergamot, olive oil and many more. You'll be surprised by the taste-explosions that you can experience in cocktails with unusual bitters.
SUGAR
I like to use brown cane suggar. Some liquors or fruit juice are also excellent sweeteners. The aforementioned Maraschino is one of my favourites.
ICE
Large chunks or smaller slushy stuff, depending on the intended cooling-, visual- or dilution-effects. Making beautiful ice can be an artform.
ANYTHING ELSE ?
Yes. A mortar, a measuring cup, cocktail spoon for layering, a sieve or strainer and fresh spices may come in handy.