Are You Adding Ice To Cocktails The Wrong Way?

Defined by Food and Wine as a mixed drink with three or more ingredients, cocktails are one of life's simple pleasures. According to Vinepair, modern cocktails were derived from English punches and later perfected by American bartenders. Smithsonian Magazine reports that during Prohibition, bartenders began to develop more creative cocktails to mask the poor taste of low-quality liquor. These elaborate drinks paved the way for the modern craft cocktail.

A simple cocktail made with decent ingredients is hard to mess up, but creating a truly perfect drink is an art form that can take years to master. If you want to take your drinks up a notch, there are a few things you may need to reassess. You could be muddling your fruit wrong or using low-quality mixers. One simple way to improve your cocktails is to consider the ice you're using in your drink — and how you add it.

Delish states that one of the most common mistakes when making cocktails is skimping on the ice. Don't worry that it will water down your drink – the more ice you add, the longer your drink will stay cold. However, to prevent diluting your drink, add ice last. The Spruce Eats warns that you should always use ice made from fresh, pure water, and recommends using full-sized ice cubes rather than crushed ice.

If you're cooling your drink with a cocktail shaker, there are still a few things to watch out for. For an egg white or chickpea water cocktail, Vinepair suggests initially shaking the drink without ice, called a dry shake, to ensure that the finished cocktail has a foamy head. If you shake your drink with ice, the ingredients will have difficulty emulsifying. Instead, shake the cocktail for 30 to 60 seconds, then add ice and shake again to help it cool down.