Cocktail foundations: specs, technique and speed

Stir drinks that are all spirit, liqueur and bitters (Old Fashioned, Negroni, Martini, Manhattan): 20–30 seconds over plenty of ice until the glass frosts. Shake anything with citrus, juice, egg white or dairy (Sours, Daiquiri, Margarita, Espresso Martini): 10–12 seconds, hard. Build highballs in the glass over ice. The rule: dilution is an ingredient. A properly stirred or shaken drink is about 20–25% water, and that is why it tastes right.

• Old Fashioned: 60ml whiskey, 5ml sugar syrup, 2 dashes Angostura; stir; rocks glass, large ice, orange peel.
• Negroni: 30 gin, 30 sweet vermouth, 30 Campari; stir; rocks, orange.
• Whiskey Sour: 60 whiskey, 30 lemon, 20 sugar syrup, optional 15 egg white or aquafaba; dry shake then shake; rocks or coupe.
• Daiquiri: 60 white rum, 25 lime, 15 sugar syrup; shake; coupe.
• Margarita: 50 tequila, 25 lime, 15 triple sec, 5 agave; shake; salt half the rim.
• Espresso Martini: 50 vodka, 25 coffee liqueur, 30 fresh espresso, 5 syrup; shake hard; coupe; three beans.
• Irish Coffee: see the whiskey course. The one Irish classic; make it properly or not at all.

Write the house spec on a card at the station. Consistency is the whole product.

• Fresh ice from a clean machine, never ice that has sat in the well. One scoop for the shaker, fresh ice in the glass.
• Chill coupes and Martini glasses; a warm glass undoes a cold drink in a minute.
• Garnish is flavour: express the peel over the drink, then drop it in or discard. No garnish without a reason.
• Egg white: dry shake first, pasteurised carton egg white is safer and consistent; aquafaba works for vegan guests (9 Below built a reputation on it).

1. Mise en place before service: syrups made, citrus juiced the same day, garnishes cut, glassware chilled, tins and strainers to hand.
2. Batch the spirit and liqueur parts of your top three cocktails in labelled, dated bottles; add citrus and shake to order. Legal if poured from stamped measures into the batch and labelled.
3. Take the full order, then make all drinks together: build highballs, start the stirred drink, shake last.
4. Call the ticket back, serve, reset the station in ten seconds.

Cost every drink to the millilitre. Example: Negroni at 30/30/30 with gin at €0.045/ml, vermouth €0.020/ml, Campari €0.035/ml is €3.00 of liquid plus garnish and ice, call it €3.20. At €13.50 including 23% VAT the net price is €10.98 and GP is 70.9%; at €14.50 it is 72.9%. Most Dublin cocktail lists aim for 78–82% GP on the specs and lower on the signature drinks that bring people in. The drinks GP calculator does the sum for any serve.