Give your guests a punch or two

LATOYA NEWMAN

IN 2005, fresh from travelling in Europe and discovering a love for bartending and mixology, Clyde Ackerman and Rael Lasarow teamed up and opened Thirst Bar Services.

Today the mobile cocktail bar company has grown to be one of the biggest in the country, with offices in Joburg, Cape Town and Durban. We asked Ackerman for some tips on budget friendly mixes you could easily put together for house guests coming over for some down time over the festive period.

What is essential to making a great cocktail?

The key to making a great cocktail, is to be sure that you are using good quality ingredients, from the base spirit, to fresh fruit/herbs.

Is there an ideal taste to a cocktail – should it be heavy on the alcohol or more refreshing?

The main aim when making a cocktail is to find the right balance between sweet and sour. As well as using the correct spirit measurements. All of these factors will determine, the overall balance of your drink.

There are many different cocktails categories, to suit all palates; for example, spirit-forward cocktails like a vodka or gin martini, negronis and manhattans. These cocktails are generally slow sipping, for a more mature palate. Then you have your more refreshing cocktails which suit a South African palate, like mojitos, margaritas, daiquiris and so on. What’s an easy way to boost your house get-together with cocktails which are easy on the pocket and easy to put together – especially if you’re not a cocktail fundi?

I am a big fan of punches for house parties. A few great suggestions would be, a well-made Pimms and lemonade, Moscow mule jugs, pomegranate chai punch and cucumber and apple punch.

Here’s how to make Thirst Bar’s pomegranate chai punch and cucumber and apple punch: You’ll need: 1 litre punch bowl Ice cubes Ingredients: 150ml gin 50ml Martini Rosso 25ml lemon juice 250ml pure pomegranate juice 2 dashes Angostura bitters 25ml orange juice 25ml pomegranate elderflower cordial 100ml strongly brewed chai tea cinnamon, poached pears, dried orange and thyme sprigs for garnish Add all ingredients to punch bowl. Add ice and garnish. You’ll need: 1 litre punch bowl Ice cubes Ingredients: 200ml Hendrix gin 50ml green Chartreuse 250ml cucumber juice 250ml cloudy apple juice 100ml elderflower cordial A bottle of sparkling wine grapefruit, cucumber rings, mint and edible flowers for garnish Add all ingredients to punch bowl. Add ice and garnish.

Check out more interesting mixes courtesy of Thirst Bar at http://www.iol.co.za/lifestyle/fooddrink.

Mixologist Clyde Ackerman makes a cocktail. POMEGRANATE CHAI PUNCH