How on earth do you decide what will, or will not, get into a cocktail list?  With modern bartending more and more interested with what Angus Winchester describes as ’scrutiny’, it is becoming harder to create cocktail lists.  So I’m going to run through my top ten tips to a foolproof cocktail list.

1. Get together a collection of cocktails that can be made quickly in the bar, that you have all the ingredients for, and that taste good. This collection can be from other bartenders, classic cocktails, personal creations, bar signatures and twists on drinks.

2. Ensure is that you like the drinks. This is not the same as ordering and drinking them, because sometimes there are amazing drinks that you can tell are fantastic, but just aren’t to your taste.

3. Check that all the major areas of the bar are covered. Is there a Tequila drink? A Cognac drink? Are there too many vodka or Gin drinks?  Balance in a cocktail list is essential.

4. Cost the drinks, including estimates of time involved, especially if a drink contains a puree, bitters or infusion that you have to make yourself.

5. Define your bar. Now things begin to get tricky, this is where great cocktail lists are made.  How do you present this collection of excellent beverages in a way that will make people order them? The single most important thing to remember about a cocktail list is that it is the advertisement for the bar that pretty much everyone reads. When turning a collection of drinks into a cocktail list there are a primary thoughts that lie behind how you go about it. The first is about the bar itself. Try and write down five to ten words that describe the bar. It can be simple note form like: rich, fast, young but knowledgeable.  Or it can be more involved: sophisticated, educated, refined with aspects that challenge and subvert traditional modes of socialising, or as simple as one word wanker!

6. Check that the collection of drinks actually match the style of the bar. It is very difficult to include a Blue Lagoon on a sophisticated bar menu without giving a good reason.

 7. Start writing. The description of a cocktail is what sells it. Very few people are as lucky as us to be able to dip a straw into almost every drink we serve.  So we need some words that describe the drink.  For example, a Margarita could be, crisp, sharp with hints of orange and healthy smack of premium tequila. After writing a few things about each drink, think about what else the descriptions are actually saying.  The Margarita description for example says fast, expensive, slightly dangerous and with a good bit of booze.  So the person most likely to order this will probably be in a hurry to spend some money, get a bit tanked, and think themselves a bit dangerous.  Is that your ideal punter?  If your ideal punter is chilled out, relaxed, sophisticated and knowledgeable, then this drink is not described in a way that will appeal.  For them you might need to say premium tequila with fresh lime, and Cointreau, shaken and served straight up with a half salt rim. The easiest way to describe any cocktail is to list the flavours. This sometimes means listing ingredients, but should not be limited to that. Using brands in descriptions can also help match a drink to the right ambiance. Cointreau is expensive, elegant, sophisticated. Bacardi is young, sexy, dangerous. Jack Daniels is down to earth, honest, straight up. So where a brand matches your consumer, use it, if it doesn’t, just use rum, gin etc.

8. Compile your list. You now have a collection of well described, tasty, easily produced cocktails that you can make a profit on.  How do you get them all sitting happily together in one smart list? There needs to be an individual answer for every venue and list.  Start by thinking about the bar again, think about how people might want to drink while there.  If it is a younger, faster crowd, lean towards categories like Straight Up or Long Drinks.  If it is an educated and slower drinker, perhaps move towards placing drinks by base spirit: Rum, Gin, Vodka etc.  You can also use ideas from restaurants like Entre Main Desert or Start Middle End.  Even old school ideas like Aperitif and Digestif can help place drinks in a form that encourages drinking. A really good way to get your head around what might work for your bar is to go to a few restaurants and bars that you think have a similar crowd.  Check how they have set things out, then twist it so that it speaks the same language, but doesn’t leave the list looking like its trying to be like anyone else.  Lots of bars have menus online now, so let your keyboard do the walking.

9. Proof it. Read it, re-read it, read it out loud, get all the staff to read it, your mother and her friends, your old English teacher and regular customers. Then you can pretty much guarantee that there will only be one glaring error. I sometimes feel that there needs to be an investigation into the fact that people who are employed elsewhere as professional editors cannot spot a huge spelling mistake in a bar menu. It is essential for credibility, and avoiding having customers continuously tell you about the mistake, that all precautions that can be taken, are taken, before allowing a menu to go to print.  Especially if the printing is outsourced, in which case demand a proof copy before they make the final run.  Strange errors of pagination, and the loss of all the prices, often occur when changing from one computer to another.

10. Now that you have your cocktail list, don’t be too proud to accept criticism. The best cocktail lists do not magically appear from the fingers of bartenders fully formed, they evolve with input, corrections and suggestions from friends and colleagues.  The very best menus are written by bartenders who understand that despite being the best person to write the whole menu, sometimes it is someone else who can best describe a specific drink.  Take their help, ask for input, allow the menu to evolve, grow and become stronger.

Sebastian Reaburn is the co-owner of 1806 (www.1806.com.au) and Mixology Management (www.mixologymanagement.com.au)