Let’s be clear here, a garnish is not just about making a drink look pretty, although it definitely should do that too. Have a read here to learn about how we relate to taste.
At its best, a garnish is an active ingredient, and in many recipes, it’s as important as any other for the success and balance of the drink.
All that being said, some garnishes are wonderfully silly and are just there to make you smile, and sometimes that’s all you need!
Twists are one of the most famous of all cocktail garnishes, but also one of the most misunderstood and mishandled. Disasters tend to happen when there’s no understanding of the ROLE that an ingredient plays, and in the case of a twist, WHAT it even is!
Now, there are numerous different ways to add citrus peel to your drink, or balance it on the rim of your glass. However, simply dropping a piece of peel into your drink is NOT adding a twist.
Martini with lemon twist
A TWIST is actually the process of extracting essential oils from within the citrus peel itself, and adding it to your drink. If you’re not extracting these oils, then you’re literally just sticking a piece of peel into your drink! This can of course look pretty, but it completely misses the point!