A well-executed or creative garnish has the ability to emblazon the memory of a cocktail within the imbiber’s mind. Whether it’s eagles cut from orange peels in Sazeracs or dolphins made from bananas in tiki drinks, they’ll leave a memory of a specific time and place. Lately, I have seen cocktails embellished with intricate designs made by spraying bitters over a stencil, so I decided to write a quick how-to article. Garnishing with a cocktail stencil and bitters is simple, but there are few tips and tricks that will help you along the way.
For starters, you’ll need a drink that has a thick foamy head to hold the sprayed artwork, which is most often bitters sprayed from a small atomizer. I chose the classic whiskey sour which uses egg whites to provide me with a “canvas” of thick foam.
At a minimum, the tools you’ll need are blank stencil sheets, an X-ACTO knife, a surface to cut on, and an atomizer. If you want to skip making a custom stencil, you can pick up these pre-made stencils for under $7. (There are plenty of other pre-made cocktail stencils on Amazon too.)
P.S. – Don’t forget the bitters! Angostura is a classic choice.
How to Make Cocktail Stencil Art
Choose a Design
Measure Glass Diameter
Print Your Design
Trace
Cut
Make a Cocktail
Spritz Bitters
Sip
Classic Whiskey Sour
Ingredients
- 2 ounces whiskey
- ¾ ounce simple syrup
- ¾ ounce lemon juice
- 1 egg white*
- bitters for garnish
Instructions
- Combine whiskey, simple syrup, lemon juice, and egg white in a cocktail shaker and dry shake. (Dry shaking means you don’t include the ice. Use of a ball whisk or Hawthorne strainer spring can help.)
- Add ice and shake until chilled.
- Double strain into a coupe glass.
Notes
Additional Resources:
- X-ACTO Knife
- Alvin Professional Self-Healing Cutting Mat
- Pre-Cut Stencil Designs
- Stencil Cutting Kit
- Blank Stencil Sheets – Cut Your Own (You could find these cheaper at a local craft store.)
- Blue Glass Atomizers – 2 Ounce
- Stainless Steel and Glass Atomizer – I don’t own this one, but really like the design.
- Ball Whisk
- Game of Thrones Lannister Stencil
- Game of Thrones Targaryen Stencil
- Game of Thrones Stark Stencil