Standard Cocktail Mixes
- An ice-cold cocktail.coctail image by Tomasz Plawski from Fotolia.com
From a simple vodka and tonic, to an ice-cold tropical drink with a slice of orange and a colorful umbrella, cocktails are refreshing drinks that sometimes taste more like fruity punch than alcoholic beverages. After prohibition, when producing and drinking alcohol was illegal, cocktail mixers were added to low quality, poor tasting alcohol. Today's standard cocktail mixes "bring out the aroma of the base and modify its taste," according to The Webtender. - Orange juice is a common juice mixer.juice image by Penny Williams from Fotolia.com
"A truly well done cocktail will have a smooth texture and awaken taste buds with its flavor," says the Drink Jockey beverage specialist. Standard fruit juices for mixing cocktails with smooth, sweet, flavor are grapefruit juice, orange juice, pineapple juice, cranberry juice and sour mix. Sour mix is a combination of lemon juice and sugar syrup, that has replaced lemon juice as a standard mixer. - A carbonated cola mixercoke soft drink image by Sandra Henderson from Fotolia.com
Sodas and tonics are carbonated mixers. Rum and Coke brand cola, vodka and tonic, and Seagram's Seven and 7Up are popular combinations. Tonic or soda water are lightly flavored base mixes turned into fruity cocktails with the addition of alcohol and a splash of fruit juice. - Coffee is not just for breakfast.coffee in coffee image by Maria Brzostowska from Fotolia.com
Coffee has a distinct flavor and is associated with waking up in the morning or warming up on a cold day. Coffee is used for coffee cocktails with a splash of liquor. - Pre-made pina collada mixes allow you to just add ice and liquor.coconut image by AGphotographer from Fotolia.com
Gone are the days when making a strawberry daiquiri meant concocting the perfect combination of strawberry, lime juice and ice to make a mixer. Pre-made cocktail mixes are available in most every flavor, saving you the time and frustration of trying to create a drink from scratch. Strawberry daiquiri, pina collada, bloody Mary, and mudslide are common pre-made drink mixes. Add alcohol, and ice, for the perfect drink.
