Layered drink has two or more liquors each floating on top of the other. The layering is possible because liquors have different densities. Following the rule of specific gravity, the heaviest liquor sinks to the bottom, the lighter one floats on top of it, and so on and so forth.
Liquid density and the rule of specific gravity applies to coffee-making too. How do you think the milk foam stays on top of the espresso in your cup of cappuccino?
Right. If you think that baristas need skill to make those latte macchiatos, well, bartenders don’t just need mixing skills. In many cases, they need to be inventive too and create original cocktail drinks.
How to make layered cocktail drinks
In the case of layered drinks, how come they don’t get mixed together? There is a technique for pouring. And although it takes some practice to create the floating layers, the pouring technique is not rocket science. You don’t have to be a professional bartender to learn it — just practice.
You use a bar spoon that you position upside down inside the glass. You pour the liquid directly onto the back of the spoon so that it spreads slowly around the edges of the glass first.
How to drink a layered cocktail
Unless otherwise instructed by your bartender, drink it with a straw. You’re supposed to sip the drink layer by layer and not altogether. It goes without saying that you’re not supposed to use your straw as a mixer to turn the layers into a homogenous mass.
Pineapple upside-down cake
Ingredients
- ¼ oz grenadine
- 1 oz pineapple juice unsweetened
- 1 oz vodka
Instructions
- Pour the grenadine into a shot glass.
- Position a bar spoon (or a teaspoon), upside down, over the shot glass.
- Pour the pineapple juice onto the spoon so that the liquid drips off the edges of the spoon and onto the sides of the shot glass.
- Wipe the bar spoon clean (or take a clean one) and pour the vodka using the same technique.
- Serve at once.
Soju and passionfruit cocktail
Ingredients
- soju chilled
- passionfruit concentrate chilled
Instructions
- Half fill two shot glasses with passionfruit concentrate (dilute with water first if the concentrate is too strong for you).
- Top with an equal amount of soju.
- Serve and enjoy.
Absinthe B-55
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons Kahlua
- 4 tablespoons Bailey’s Irish Cream
- 4 tablespoons Absinthe
Instructions
- Start by pouring a tablespoon of pouring Kahlua at the bottom of a shot glass.
- Position a bar spoon (or a teaspoon), upside down, over the shot glass.
- Pour a tablespoon of Bailey’s Irish Cream onto the spoon so that the liquid drips off the edges of the spoon and onto the sides of the shot glass.
- To make the Absinthe float on top of the Bailey’s layer, do the same thing. Take a clean spoon, place it upside down over the shot glass and pour the Absinthe slowly.
- Repeat to make three more Absinthe B-55.
