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Cocktails are typically a combination of spirits (can be more than one), fruit juice, flavored syrup, cream, or tonic water. It’s great for people who love sipping things to get through with whatever they’re doing – we’ve seen a lot of punters working with playersbest talk about how they like to have a cocktail by their side when making sports analyses. It’s also the ideal drink for most who love to relax after a long day.

Whether you want to work as a bartender or you’d want to be the star man of drinks when you’re hosting a party with friends, you’ll need to know a thing or two about drinks if you want to offer a fantastic service. Of course, you don’t need to know how to mix all the cocktails in the world to be a good bartender. More so, it’s advised you concentrate on mastering a few; that way, people will know your forte.

This article is a great way to start if you’re interested in upping your cocktail mixing game. We’ll be running through the brass tacks of cocktail preparation, so next time you mix something, you know exactly what you’re doing.

Most Important Cocktail Ingredient

Wine is, without question, an essential cocktail ingredient. Being primarily a combination of spirits, you can have the key ingredient being brandy, sparkling wine, vermouth, or even a combination of your options. Then other ingredients like fruit juice, syrup, cream, and tonic water can follow depending on the cocktail combination demands.

There’s no limitation to adding wines to cocktails; sometimes, we even get to see aged wine being in the mix. For example, the famous French drink Kir combines black currant liqueur (crème de cassis) and white wine. That being said, here are some details about wine cocktails you should know.

Wine Spritzer

A wine spritzer is usually a combination of white or rose with bubbly water. The origin of this alcoholic beverage is somewhat unclear as most people believe it may have originated in Hungary in 1800; however, it was widely used in Easter Europe during that century also raises some questions.

It’s part of the ingredients in the Spanish cocktail called Tinto de verano; it’s also seen in the German Süssgespritzter and, of course, the Hungarian Fröccs.

Fortified Wine

Fortified wine is usually combined with distilled spirit – for example, brandy. This is quite popular in bars because it can also be taken as is, without needing other add-ons to make it a complete cocktail.

The classic sherry cobbler by David Wondrich is an excellent example of a cocktail prepared with fortified wine. The Adonis, the Lankershim Fizz, quoit punch, and the La Perla by Jacques Bezuidenhout are great examples of cocktails made from fortified wine.

Aromatized Wine

It’s common to have aromatized wine combined as a cocktail – usually served somewhat diluted manner. Historically, aromatized wines were used as medicine. However, it also makes a good drink because of its strong flavor.

The Italian Quinquina, the Americano, German Vermouth, and French Lillet are great examples of cocktails made from aromatized wine.

Sangria

The Sangria is a Spanish beverage that combines wine with fresh fruit chops. It’s also considered an aromatized wine, only this time, a distilled wine is added to give it the brandy taste.

Sparkling Wine

If you know your champagnes, you should know the concept behind a sparkling wine. Carbon dioxide is added. The French champagne cocktail, the French 75, the Mimosa, Buck’s Fizz, Kir Royale, and Bellini are good examples you can check out.

Mulled Wine

Believed to have originated in Rome during the 2nd century, mulled wine is that which is usually warmed with spices and flavorings. The main difference between it and sangrias is its spicy flavors. English-speaking nations like the UK refer to it as mulled wine, but countries with different languages call it different things.

Distilled Wine

Spirits with 35%-65% ABV contents are often referred to as distilled wine – in English-speaking nations like the UK; it’s generalized as Brandy. It’s distilled to remove much of the liquid, increasing the alcohol concentration.

Cocktails made with distilled wine are perhaps the easiest place to start in your cocktail-making journey. To begin, we’ve put together a guide for four cocktails you can make from Bombay Sapphire.