The best cocktails for beginners – Easy & impressive

The most common mistakes when mixing cocktails – and how to avoid them

Even the best cocktails can go wrong if you make a few fundamental mistakes. To prevent that from happening, here are the biggest cocktail fails – and how you can easily avoid them!

1. Wrong proportions – When the drink doesn’t taste good

Have you ever tried a cocktail that was either way too strong or way too weak? This is usually due to wrong proportions.

Mistakes:
❌ Too much alcohol → The drink tastes too harsh and overpowers all other flavors.
❌ Too little alcohol → The cocktail tastes watery and bland.

How to do it right:
✅ Always adhere to the measurements in the recipe (e.g., 5 cl spirit, 10 cl filler as a general rule).
✅ If you don’t have a measuring cup, use a shot glass – that’s usually exactly 4-5 cl!
✅ Always mix according to the recipe on the first try – later you can experiment.

2. Too much or too little ice – The underestimated ingredient

Ice is not only for cooling – it affects the consistency and flavor of the cocktail.

Mistakes:
❌ Too little ice → The drink warms up too quickly and becomes diluted.
❌ Using hollow ice cubes → These melt extremely quickly and dilute the cocktail.

How to do it right:
✅ Always completely fill the glass with ice – this keeps the drink cold longer and dilutes it less.
✅ Use crushed ice for mojitos & frozen cocktails, large ice cubes for short drinks like an Old Fashioned.
✅ If you don’t have good ice cubes, you can make ice yourself – just boil the water beforehand and then freeze it, this way it will be clear and hard!

3. Combining ingredients incorrectly – Not every mix works together

Some drinks simply don’t taste good because the ingredients don’t harmonize.

Mistakes:
❌ Too much acidity and too little sweetness → The cocktail tastes too sour.
❌ Too many sweet ingredients → The drink becomes sticky and inedible.
❌ Mixing spirits without a concept → Not every alcohol goes together!

How to do it right:
✅ Create a balance of sweet, sour, and bitter – test and adjust.
✅ If a drink is too sour, simply add a bit of sugar or syrup.
✅ When experimenting, orient yourself to proven combinations (e.g., rum + lime + sugar = classic!).

4. Shake or stir? The right mixing makes the difference

Not every cocktail is shaken! Some drinks should only be gently stirred.

Mistakes:
❌ Shaking a mojito or gin and tonic in a shaker → The carbonation is lost!
❌ Do not shake milky or creamy cocktails → They do not mix properly.

How to do it right:
✅ Shake: For cocktails with citrus juice, syrup, or milk (e.g., margarita, piña colada).
✅ Stir: For cocktails without juices, only with alcohol (e.g., negroni, old fashioned).
✅ Build directly in the glass: For long drinks with carbonation (e.g., gin and tonic, mojito, cuba libre).

➡ Tip: If you don’t have a shaker, you can use a jam jar with a lid – it works just as well!

5. The wrong order – Order is important!

The order in which you put the ingredients in the glass makes a big difference.

Mistakes:
❌ First the ice, then the ingredients → The ice starts to melt immediately and dilutes the drink while mixing.
❌ First the carbonation, then the alcohol → The drink overflows or loses carbonation.

How to do it right:
✅ First alcohol, then juice or syrup, then the ice – and finally carbonation (for long drinks).
✅ Always add the ice as the last step to the glass so it doesn’t melt unnecessarily.
✅ For layered drinks (e.g., tequila sunrise), pour slowly so the colors do not mix immediately.

➡ Tip: If you want to make a layered drink, pour in the heaviest ingredient (e.g., grenadine) last – it sinks to the bottom!

Conclusion: A few small adjustments – and you’ll mix cocktails like a pro!

Making mistakes when mixing cocktails is entirely normal, but with these tips you can easily avoid them. Once you’ve mastered the basics, you can start experimenting with your own creations!