Learn the Concept of how Graphic Imagery can Help You Memorize Fractions of Ounces with Mixology Mnemonics Part 3.  Elaborative Encoding – Part 4: Telling a Story to Lock Down the Details. 

Mixology Mnemonics Part 2

After looking into the best ways to approach teaching Mnemonics, evidence shows that personal training is most beneficial, and even required. I can see that. Most people I know who started out learning Mnemonics learned less than half of what they needed to do well, and gave up on it. Perhaps it’s because they got no help.

I’m going to start a live streaming video program on this site so you can interact with me directly. This won’t be strictly drink recipe memorization, but HOW TO remember drink recipes efficiently.

FROM THE FAMILIAR TO THE UNFAMILIAR

One learning technique useful in memorization is going from the familiar to the unfamiliar. Take for instance the following four drinks – the Madras and the Sex on the Beach, and the Painkiller and Blue Hawaii (not the same as the Blue Hawaiian, if spelling and ingredients are what make a drink a drink.).

From Madras to Sex on the Beach

The Madras is our first drink – 1 1/4 oz. Vodka, O.J., and Cranberry. Of course the Madras itself we know is just a Screwdriver with cranberry added, or a Cape Cod with Orange Juice added (take your pick). Two more examples of going from the known to the unknown, the familiar to the unfamiliar.


Once the Madras is known however, the Mnemonic for Sex on the Beach is just a simple little rhyme, quite elegant in it’s obviousness and simplicity: “A Sex on the Beach is a Madras Plus Peach”. 🙂 How easy is that? We wish they were all so easy! 


But even that, so OBVIOUS and so SIMPLE took 40 years to come to my attention,  even though I’m always looking at ways to better retain and teach drink recipes. Someone of several thousand  bartenders in a group on Facebook brought that Mnemonic to my attention. Amazing. Simply amazing. Live and learn. 🙂

Painkiller

Glassware: Specialty (or Hurricane)
Mixing Method: Frozen or Shaken & Strained

Ingredients:
1 oz. Pusser’s Dark Rum
1 oz. Pineapple Juice
1 oz. Orange Juice
1 oz. Cream of Coconut
1/2 oz 151 Rum (Floater)

Garnish: Grated Nutmeg, Cherry, or Optional Pineapple Slice

Blue Hawaii

Glassware: Hurricane Glass
Mixing Method: Shake and Strain


Ingredients:
1/2 oz. Myers’s Dark Rum
1 oz. Pineapple Juice
1 oz. Orange Juice
1 oz. Sour Mix
1/2 oz. Blue Curacao
1/2 oz. Light Rum


Garnish: Pineapple & Cherry


While at first glance they didn’t look very much the same to me, I did notice that at least three of the ingredients were the same – so then I rearranged the Blue Hawaii’s ingredients and found that they are actually a lot more similar than I had first thought.

You can even use Pusser’s Dark Rum in the Blue Hawaii if you want (the Painkiller is Trademarked by Pusser’s, and legally must use Pusser’s Rum however). MANY if not MOST bartenders working today know the Painkiller, or at least have a passing familiarity with the drink (or its name), so getting TWO DRINKS memorized for very little more than the price of one is a huge incentive to learning.

The difference in ingredients is at the end where the Painkiller uses 1 oz. of Cream of Coconut, and the Blue Hawaii uses 1/2 oz. plus 1/2 oz. of Sour Mix and Blue Curacao respectively. So, while the last ingredient in each is Rum (one being 151, the other being Light Rum) where the first is floated and the other added directly to the drink before shaking, it is that small difference that lets it stand out AS different and noticeable and thus easier to remember. The “additional optional” items in the Painkiller’s garnish (the Pineapple and Cherry flag) are the actual garnish for the Blue Hawaii, and then all you need to remember is that Nutmeg is the main “garnish” (it’s more of a spice topping aromatic ingredient, really) for the Painkiller. 


Mind you now, don’t go nuts over this Blue Hawaii in case you already know a similar drink called the Blue Hawaiian which is 1/2 oz. Blue Curacao, 1 1/2 oz. Pineapple Juice, 1 1/2 oz. Sour Mix, 1 1/4 oz Light Rum and a Pineapple Cherry garnish served in a House Specialty glass. That’s not the same drink, but it also shares similar characteristics. 


So ONE memory aid you can look for to help you remember more drinks is to go from familiar to unfamiliar. It’s the way we remember drinks in groups like the Madras¹, Sex on the Beach², Cape Cod³, the Sea Breeze⁴, and the Bay Breeze⁵ as quick examples. 

Thanks! Back Soon.

BartenderLife

Site Author, David J. Curtis: David Curtis, a seasoned professional with decades of bartending and bar management experience began his career in Midtown Manhattan, NY, tending and managing bars before diving into Manhattan’s bustling nightlife club scene. Over the years, he has mastered high-volume, high-pressure bartending as the lead bartender in iconic Midtown clubs and tended bar briefly in the Wall Street area, generating over $1,350,000.00 annually in personal drink sales. He has since extended his expertise to establishments in Georgia and now Tampa in Exclusive Platinum Service Awards Clubs, Florida. David’s roles as a Bartending Instructor at the American Bartending School in Tampa, while maintaining a second job bartending, and his years experience of managing bars, and working as a Brand Ambassador along with his extensive professional library of over 1,000 bartending books, highlight his dedication to continually refining his craft. He holds a diploma in Bar Management and is BarSmarts certified by Pernod Ricard.

1. Madras: Vodka, OJ, Cranberry[↩]
2. Sex on the Beach: Vodka, OJ, Cranberry, Peach Schnapps[↩]
3. Cape Cod: Vodka, Cranberry (just subtract the OJ and go pure Cranberry) [↩]
4. Sea Breeze: Vodka, Cranberry, Grapefruit Juice (just substitute Grapefruit Juice for the OJ[↩]
5. Bay Breeze: Vodka, Cranberry, Pineapple Juice (just substitute Pineapple Juice for the OJ[↩]