I was at a Martell event last night and someone asked me how I come up with my cocktail recipes. I gave a short answer on a little of this and a little of that. However, as I sat reading Steal Like An Artist this morning, I realized that yes, I definitely steal stuff.
For me, cocktails normally start with the classics (daiquiri, old fashioned, negroni, martini, etc.) Then I normally incorporate something Jamaican like one of our fruits our simply a Jamaican recipe. For example, I do a cocktail named Carrots on Carrots for Martell HOME. It’s very similar to something my mom made on Sundays when I was growing up. She didn’t add cognac though. While I’ve refined it a bit and added a spirit, it uses a very similar technique to my mom’s and to my grandmother’s before her.
The other place that I steal from is my travels. A lot of times, my cocktails are inspired by places that I’ve been to. It might be something that they serve in a country, an ingredient they use or just a great cocktail name that I think of that I’ll then build the cocktail from. Wandering around an international farmer’s market usually jogs my memory and brings up these experiences. Then I’m grabbing ingredients and off to try something new.
So like anything else, learn the classics (I’ll add them as we go along) and then add your own twist to it. Playing with cocktails can be just as much fun as experimenting with food.