Muddling is a mixology technique sometimes taken for granted—listed as an instruction on countless classic cocktail recipes with no explanation given for the amateur, at-home bartenders following along. But George “Papi” Zwetkow, master distiller at MurLarkey Spirits in Bristow, bets that most cocktail drinkers are muddling already without even knowing it.
“If you get a drink in a cocktail lounge, and you use a straw to mash the lemon or lime to get more flavors out of that, that’s muddling in a roundabout way,” he says.
Muddling is merely crushing flavorful elements in a drink to extract the oils and juices to imbue into the liquor. It can be done with a true cocktail muddler, a flat-end spoon, a wooden dowel, a rolling pin, or even the ice in your glass. Just add the subject of muddling to the shaker and grind. Then, combine the other ingredients, shake, strain, and serve.
Strawberries, apples, watermelon, mango, cucumber, and herbs like mint and thyme are just a few items on Zwetkow’s list of muddle-able ingredients. “Really, any herb qualifies for muddling,” he says. “The citrus part is also something you’re going to consider muddling. I can muddle an orange, lemon, lime, grapefruit, anything that has a rind.”
As long as one uses fresh, in-season ingredients, there’s no end to the possibilities. MurLarkey.com
Check out muddling recipes here!
This article originally appeared in the October 2024 issue.
