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a home + living guide for the post-college, pre-parenthood, quasi-adult generation

01.17.2002

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drink dress- ups
a brief guide to garnishing cocktails 
1 2 3 4 5
continued from page 1

wheel | Wheels and half-wheels make a fine garnish for sweet tropical drinks, and look lovely floating in punch bowls and pitchers as well. Avoid slicing either too thin (flimsy and flaccid) or too thick (just plain inelegant). Just under ¼" is generally a good thickness for large wheels; smaller wheels can be as thin as 1/8".
use with: cosmopolitan, daiquiri, frozen daiquiri, gin fizz, tom collins

twist | The twist, unlike the wedge or wheel, consists of only the peel portion of the fruit, generally a lemon. It’s far and away my favorite garnish to create, although it takes a little bit of work to perfect the technique. A standard twist that you’ll get at most bars is maybe an inch or two long, and no more than a ¼" wide, but I’m of the opinion that the ideal twist should be really long, really curly, and really thin. Because, dammit, it just looks prettier that way.

removing the flesh
1 Cut off the bottom ¼" of both ends of your lemon, just enough such that the fruit begins to show.

2 Skedaddle on over to the sink or work over a bowl, as this next step is messy. Insert the very tip of your knife in the white pithy part of the lemon, between the skin and the fruit. Don’t push the knife in too far just yet, as you’ll end up puncturing the skin if you’re not careful. Ideally, of course, you’ll want to get as close to the skin as possible, so you’re not left with a really thick, really bitter twist, but on your first couple of tries, don’t get too ambitious: it’s easier to clean up the innards after you’ve popped out the core. 


Now carefully begin cutting away the fruit from the peel by rotating the
lemon, gradually pushing the blade further and further into the fruit. (I find it easier to hold the sharp side of the knife towards me as I do this.) When you’ve pushed your blade in as far as it’ll go, flip the lemon and cut from the other side.

3 At this point, you should be able to pop out the core of the lemon. Set it aside (you can place it in a strainer and squash with the back of a spoon later on to squeeze out the juice).



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