So far we have purchased three bottles of base liquor (vodka, gin, and rum), and next we are going to purchase the fourth bottle of base liquor: Tequila.

Through movies and folk tales, Tequila has become the base liquor with the most myths, such as:

"Is tequila stronger?"

"Are there worms in agave?"

"Does tequila have special aphrodisiac effects?"

"Tequila tastes spicy and smelly?"

"Tequila is made from cactus?"

Tequila is a spirit made from the agave crop (Blue Agave), and the raw material content must be more than 51% to be labeled Tequila for sale. High-quality tequila will be directly labeled 100% Blue Agave or 100% De Agave, which means it is made entirely from blue agave.

Related reading: Tequila Facts

The recommended entry-level tequila in China is Pepe Lopez, also translated as Dr. Lei. It is recommended to buy the silver one first and then the gold one, because the silver tequila is closer to the original state of the tequila when it is just made.

Just drink the tequila.

What does tequila taste like? It tastes a bit like pineapple that has been left for a long time and has a slightly fermented taste. After taking a sip, there is a light peppery aroma. The alcohol in Pepe Lopez is not very irritating, and you won't feel it is too spicy even if you drink it pure. If you have drunk too much Stroke Tequila before, this taste should change your view of tequila~

After obtaining tequila, you need to get a hurricane glass and pomegranate syrup to successfully complete the next tequila cocktail task.

The Hurricane Glass is a large-capacity curved cup that looks like an ancient lamp that could be lit successfully during a hurricane, hence the name.

The hurricane glass is a must-have glass because it is used for large-capacity tropical cocktails, fruit juice cocktails, and cocktails that mix a large amount of base wine and sweet wine (such as Long Island Iced Tea and Singapore Sling).

Classic Hurricane Cup

Next, you need to buy your first bottle of syrup: Grenadine syrup. Grenadine syrup is the most commonly used coloring syrup for cocktails. It is used in many classic cocktails, and is more often used in non-alcoholic cocktails!

Next we will make two cocktails: Tequila Sunrise and Matador.

Lemon slices are the most common and easiest to cut glass garnishes. Many people are troubled by the uneven thickness of the slices, or the slices being thick on one side and thin on the other. Generally speaking, the sharper the knife, the easier it is to cut, and the harder the lemon peel, the easier it is to cut.

When you first start practicing, don't cut directly with force. Let the blade cut into the surface of the lemon first and then apply force to cut downwards, otherwise it will easily be cut crooked.

Next is the Tequila Sunrise

Cocktail Mission

Cocktail-005/Tequila Sunrise

1. Prepare all materials

2. Pour about two fingers of tequila into a hurricane glass/Collins glass.

3. Then pour in orange juice and stir evenly

4. Slowly pour in the pomegranate syrup. Due to its density, the syrup will sink to the bottom of the drink. Stop when the syrup touches the bottom of the cup.

5. Add the prepared decorations to the quilt. Doesn’t this glass of wine look like a sunrise?

For our second cocktail we're going to make the Matador.

Cocktail Mission

Cocktail-006/Matador

Pour two fingers of tequila into a whiskey glass, fill it with ice, squeeze the juice of 1-2 lemon wedges into the glass, fill it with pineapple juice, stir well and use the pineapple wedge as decoration.

It was mentioned before that tequila itself has a fermented smell similar to pineapple, so pineapple juice can be said to be the juice that goes best with tequila in 1on1 cocktails.

Now let’s make a brief summary and prepare to step out of the Novice Village.

If you are a beginner and start making cocktails according to the introduction in this column, you should have already bought the following four base wines:

Wine Purchase and Tasting

‧Vodka & Drinks

‧Gin & Drinks

‧Rum & Drinks

‧Tequila & Drinks

In the cup part, you should have already started:

Holding a cocktail glass

‧Whiskey glass

‧Collins Cup

‧Hurricane Cup

In terms of tools, you should have the most basic ones:

General tools held

‧Fruit knife

‧Cutting board

And you should have tried the following cocktail ingredients and know what they taste like when combined with the base drink:

Already used auxiliary materials

‧Orange juice

‧Cranberry juice

‧Tonic water

‧Coca Cola

‧Pineapple juice

‧Grenaline syrup

In order to complete the bartending task, you should have already made the following 6 classic cocktails:

Ready-made cocktails

‧Cocktail-001 Screwdriver

‧Cocktail-002 Cape Cod

‧Cocktail-003 Gin Tonic

‧Cocktail-004 Cuba Libre

‧Cocktail-005 Tequila Sunrise

‧Cocktail-006 Matador

In addition, we have also learned the three most basic ways to cut lemons:

Completed fruit carving practice

‧Garnish-001 Lemon Wedge

‧Garnish-002 Lemon Peel Roll

‧Garnish-003 Lemon Slice

------------Step out of the Novice Village dividing line------------

After completing the above tasks, you will step out of the novice village of bartending!

Next, we need to get some formal bartending tools. The six cocktails we have tried before were all made by the build method. The so-called build method is to pour the ingredients directly into the glass, stir them evenly and then drink them. The following cocktails will use the shake method and the stir method, so we also need to prepare the following tools:

‧Jigger

‧Shaker

‧Mixing Glass

‧Bar spoon

‧Ice strainer

‧Squeezer

In addition to the above six main tools, you can also purchase a wine spout, a tamper and a can opener, which will be used in subsequent tasks. If you have not purchased any cups before, you can buy a basic cup set online; if you already have the above three cups, it is recommended to purchase a martini glass and proceed to the next stage.

Now that we have the tools, we will introduce the main task of cocktail making in the next article~