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One day we gathered in a restaurant with our wives and gave them a choice of alcoholic drinks. Naturally, the girls asked for cocktails!
The men grumbled, but quickly found a compromise: the menu included beer cocktails “Munich Lemonade” based on light beer and “Barbarella” based on dark beer.
We happily rubbed our hands – and we pleased the women, and we’ll drink beer. This combination is not often found in a harsh married life.
The story of my subscriber Vladimir.
Why I decided to make alcohol myself
I started with the light Lemonade, and at first it seemed to me that it lived up to its name: the drink was light, moderately sweet, with a pleasant lemon flavor.
When it was my turn to make a toast, I stood up and felt quite dizzy. It became clear: I drank a very strong alcoholic drink, deceptively disguised as compote.
The next in line was the Barbarella cocktail – completely different in taste sensations, but no less strong. The aroma of blackcurrant prevailed here, combined with the astringency of dark beer. This drink seemed to me more “heavy” and saturated.
In general, both beer cocktails turned out to be very original – so much so that I wanted to make them myself at home. Moreover, the New Year was approaching, which meant that there was an occasion to treat friends and relatives with an unusual drink.
What ingredients are required
In the menu of the restaurant, under the name of cocktails, their composition was written. The ingredients of Munich Lemonade are lemon syrup, vodka and light beer. “Barbarella” includes blackcurrant syrup, whiskey and dark beer.
Syrup
To begin with, I was puzzled by the problem of syrup. Of course, it was possible to buy ready-made – both lemon and currant syrups are available, for example, in the Monin (Monin) or Rioba (Rioba) lines.
But, firstly, it is quite expensive: a liter bottle of Monin costs an average of 600 rubles, and Rioba 0,7 l – 360! Well, and secondly, the composition of such syrups led me into a stupor: dyes, flavors, regulators, in a word – “E sits on E and E drives”!
And then I decided to make natural homemade syrups, for which I bought three lemons and a package of frozen blackcurrants for 400 g. Well, there will always be sugar and water at home.
Vodka and whiskey
There were no questions here: I usually buy Russian Standard vodka, preferably Gold (Gold) – it suits me in terms of quality more than others. For 10-12 servings of a cocktail, a half-liter bottle is enough. I took a promotion at a discount for 480 rubles.
With whiskey, everything is also simple: in this case, you can take cheaper, for example, White horse (White Horse) or William Lowson (William Lawson). These bottles are usually on sale in any supermarket, the price is 700-750 rubles per 0,5 liter.
Set of strong alcohol for beer cocktails
This volume is enough to prepare 10-12 servings of 350 ml. Yes, the Barbarella cocktail is more expensive!
Beer
Beer for a cocktail is better to take neutral, without pronounced flavor accents.
Among the light varieties, Löwenbräu (Levenbräu) seems to me to be such, especially since the birthplace of its production is Munich, and this variety is best suited for Munich Lemonade.
Holsten (Holsten) or Tuborg (“Tuborg”) is also suitable. If you take cans or bottles of 0,5 liters, then you need 6 pieces, the price for a can is 50-70 rubles.
Choosing a dark beer, I settled on the Czech Krušovice (Krushovice). The calculation of the amount is the same as for light beer. Bank costs 80 rubles.
Beer for cocktails
The cooking process
I started preparing syrups for cocktails in advance so that by the holiday all the chilled ingredients were already waiting for the hour of their combination.
I washed the lemons well, cut them into quarters and squeezed the juice into a large mug. Currant just got out of the freezer; By the way, in the summer you can use fresh berries.
For both types of syrup, you need to take 0,5 kg of sugar and 200 ml of water. It is convenient to cook at the same time, in two saucepans.
Sugar is mixed with water until it is completely dissolved, brought to a boil, and then you need to pour currant berries into one pan, and lemon peels into another. Bring back to a boil and simmer for 4-5 minutes.
Now the currant syrup can be set aside, and squeezed juice can be poured into the lemon syrup, wait for the boil again and also removed from the heat. Wait for the syrups to cool completely, filter, pour into some containers and put in the refrigerator.
Ready cocktails
Well, the process of preparing cocktails takes place immediately before they are served. In tall glasses with a volume of 320-350 ml, you first need to pour the syrup, then, without mixing, strong alcohol. And only then, carefully, tilting the glass, pour beer in a thin stream.
Important! If the glass is not tilted, then a lot of foam will form!
If all the above tips are followed, an even foam cap is formed on the surface of the cocktail.
The proportions are as follows:
- for Munich Lemonade: 40 ml lemon syrup, 40 ml vodka, 220 ml light beer;
- for Barbarella: 40 ml blackcurrant syrup, 40 ml whiskey, 220 ml dark beer.
Here are the average proportions.
By reducing or increasing the number of ingredients, you can get cocktails more or less sweet and more or less strong – a matter of taste. Each glass can be decorated and put a straw.
What result did I get
Of course, glasses with amber or maroon liquid, decorated with lemon slices and mint leaves, looked spectacular on the festive table. The people were delighted!
Almost everyone claimed that the notorious combination of beer with vodka or beer with whiskey did not cause negative consequences such as headaches. Maybe this is due to the high content of vitamin C in syrups?
Now I prepare beer cocktails for every holiday. More often, of course, the lighter and cheaper Munich Lemonade. This is a very good option for a festive drink: you can prepare everything in advance and serve an original and tasty alcoholic drink to the table.
I also tried to make a light beer cocktail with cherry syrup (I bought a package of frozen cherries and cooked them like currants).
Now I’m interested to try the combination of other ingredients. I hope that someone will tell me – what else can be mixed with beer to get a balanced cocktail in taste?