Bar technique
How to swizzle and churn with crushed ice
Crushed ice melts far faster than cubes, so a crushed ice drink is built to be diluted as the guest drinks it. Juleps, swizzles and many tiki drinks are written with that in mind.
Churning and swizzling both mix the drink with the ice in the glass until the outside frosts.
How to do it
- 1Fill the glass about two thirds with crushed ice and pour the drink over it.
- 2Churn by pushing a bar spoon to the bottom and lifting it up and down, or swizzle by spinning a swizzle stick between your palms.
- 3Keep going until the glass frosts on the outside.
- 4Top with more crushed ice, mounded above the rim.
- 5Add the garnish and a straw, cut short enough that the guest’s nose meets the garnish.
Common mistakes
- Crushing ice early and letting it sit, so it turns to slush.
- A glass only half full, which leaves a watery drink in five minutes.
- Swapping crushed for cubes, or cubes for crushed, without changing the spec.
Related: ice and dilution, muddling, garnish.
