“The Garnish Game”

An appealing garnish accounts for about 45% of a drink. It serves as the cocktail’s resume, presenting itself to a thirsty guest seated before a bartender. In the realm of cocktail bars and high-end restaurants, both bartenders and chefs place considerable emphasis on this aspect.

But why is it so important?

I’m certainly not a master of garnishing; over the years, I’ve made plenty of mistakes and learned from feedback, both friendly and not so much, from patrons, colleagues, and industry peers.
However, mastering a garnish can greatly enhance the success of your cocktail lists and earn you high marks in competitions.

In the era of social media, many guests who visit our venues are seeking an experience, and they thoroughly enjoy capturing photos of exceptional cocktails to share with their friends. These photos serve as your business card to new potential customers.

A fantastic garnish can often be the deciding factor in whether a customer’s drink experience is memorable or forgettable, especially in an era where we often consume with our eyes more than our palates.

Different Schools of thought

The Tiki Culture

The old Tiki culture introduced an almost overwhelming garnish to the drink, with fresh fruit decorations, leaves, spent husks, and even fire components. Tiki cocktails are meant to be visually stunning, evoking images of lush tropical landscapes and vibrant sunsets.
The lavish garnishes contribute to the drink’s aesthetic appeal, creating a sense of abundance and extravagance while adding layers of aroma.

As patrons sip their drinks, they are captured in a sensory and interactive experience that transports them to a tropical oasis.
Moreover, these garnishes were often chosen for their symbolic significance or thematic relevance.
For example, a cocktail served with a flaming garnish may evoke images of Polynesian fire dances, while a drink adorned with tropical fruits may symbolise abundance and vitality.

The 2000′ Carousels

The breeze of the 2000s. Man, what an era…
If you ask me, I’d solemnly swear on the Bible how awful it was!
The most embarrassing part of it all? The tackiest garnishes imaginable.
Think banana dolphins, lime wheels on a Martini glass, and those beloved red plastic cherries!
Hey, maybe it’s just me…
Most likely.
But I get fired up quite a bit when I see those garnishes. -Excuse my passion! 🤌

Did you know that:

The bright red maraschino cherries are first soaked in a brine solution that typically contains calcium chloride and sulfur dioxide. This bleaches the cherries, removing their natural red pigment and flavor. 

After bleaching, they’re soaked in another solution for about one month. This solution contains red food dye, sugar, and oil of bitter almonds or an oil with a similar flavour.

“You sure you want some more”? 😅

The Japanese approach

If you have worked in or visited different styles of bars, you would have surely noticed that some bars prefer a minimalist approach to garnishing, while others opt for a “naked” approach, leaving all the focus on the liquid itself served in a cup.

The Japanese approach, if we can call it that, involves minimal garnishing, reflecting broader cultural values of simplicity, balance, and harmony. In Japanese culture, there’s a strong emphasis on showcasing the natural flavours and qualities of ingredients without overwhelming them with excessive embellishments.
This philosophy extends to cocktail-making, where bartenders prioritise meticulous craftsmanship and precision to create drinks that are elegant, refined, and well-balanced, maintaining the integrity of the drink’s presentation.

Today

Nowadays, in high-end cocktail bars, there’s a trend toward a more moderate and elegant approach to garnishing drinks. However, there isn’t necessarily a right or wrong way to garnish. The key is understanding your audience.

In the past, I’ve seen talented bartenders not achieve the success they deserved simply because their garnishing style didn’t meet their clientele expectations. 

Know your location

It may seem superficial, but understanding your venue, crowd and location is incredibly important.

I wish someone had taught me this sooner as a young bartender, sending orange peels shaped like hearts to flirt with girls.

By the way, there’s a 9 out of 10 chance that this… may not work.

If your venue boasts high-rise views of the city, DJ sets, and great networking opportunities for your crowd, then minimalistic garnishes in your offerings may not be the best fit.

Many patrons would visit for the experience and often keep their mobile phones handy to capture every moment.
Quality is always paramount, of course, and I am not suggesting you create intricate origami with each drink!

Consider the pace of your service! Can you keep up with 20 orders for the same drink if the garnish is complex and time-consuming for your staff?

Think smart.
Not lazy, but smart!
If your service is more curated around a sophisticated drinking experience, then simplicity might be the way to go. A simple fresh twist or even a glass rinse (absinthe or bitters) can go a long way!

Or sometimes, the “naked” approach may work well too.

Look at Above Board—they absolutely nail it!

Maximise your drinks potential

View the garnishing game as an opportunity to enhance your drink, not just visually. Garnishing can be a form of storytelling!
One example I absolutely love is the gummy shark in the notorious Bondi Beach Martini by Maybe Sammy.

You can make it playful or even more elegant. 

Use it to add flavour!
Realistically, this can be done per contrast or enhancement of scents or botanicals.
Be creative and experiment as much as possible. 

  • For a fruity and citrusy cocktail, why not try adding a savoury element to the garnish to break it up? 
  • For a cold cocktail, consider adding a hot or warm aromatised foam.

A sustainable cause

Many brands have started encouraging bartenders to demonstrate their creativity by adopting a more sustainable approach to garnishing.
By utilising byproducts from drink creation, such as fruit leathers, caramelised elements, jellies, and dehydrated fruit, bartenders can create entirely new ingredients.

Once again, be Smart, not Lazy.
In the past, I’ve worked in venues where dehydrated fruit garnishes were literally everywhere.
As a matter of fact, we had rows of jugs lined up behind the bar solely for garnishing cocktails.

Amazing for fast-paced venues and really relieving for the dispensing bartender, but lazy, very lazy! And this is something I only understood many years later.

To address the issue of speed, many bars and restaurants have implemented a few tricks and tips.
First of all, batching!
Having your cocktail ready to go in a batch will guarantee a much faster service and give bartenders more time to dedicate to their garnishes and guest experience!
Alternatively, some bars adopt the use of garnishing stations!
That’s right, a whole station set up to finish up the cocktail, giving more time to the bartender to dedicate to their drink dockets and bar services.
This leaves the task of garnishing cocktails to experienced staff on the floor who can finish the cocktail before running it to a table.
Sometimes, the cocktail is even finished directly at the table, ensuring guests don’t miss out on the experience from the bar to the table around the corner!

Edible Paint

This was a significant trend in recent years, integrating abstract art into cocktails by painting directly on the exterior of a glass or even splattering paint on the inside of a martini glass to enhance the allure of a crystal-clear cocktail.
While the paint may not impart colour to the liquid, the visual impact is remarkable. It’s an excellent method to unleash creativity and experiment with something unique if you haven’t tried it yet. 

As always, moderation is key. Unless your bar is named “The Earless Vincent,” it’s probably wise to refrain from painting all your glasses, risking losing a limb from a furious Barback or Bar Owner who would have to replace the dishwasher.

Is Ice a Garnish?

It’s a yes for me!
Different types of ice can really enhance a drink. Imagine using clear ice with a flower frozen in the middle. Isn’t that amazing to watch?
Flavoured ice has also gained popularity, adding both aroma and visual appeal to cocktails.
This also creates a slow release of flavour, changing the drink over time.


In conclusion, the garnish game is a fun aspect of drink-making.
Embrace it and leverage it to achieve your goals,
but please,
try your best to steer clear of fruit salads, banana dolphins and plastic cherries!

For a little inspiration, please feel free to check out our latest reel: “The Garnish Game”
Share with us your best garnishes and tag us on social media at Bar Crafts.

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