How to Use Mint in a Cocktail

Are you muddling mint correctly? The proper technique is essential when using the aromatic herb in a cocktail, and it’s more complicated than you might think. In the video above, Don Lee, co-founder of drink accessory emporium Cocktail Kingdom and onetime mixologist at New York City speakeasy PDT, demonstrates how it’s done.

"The key to muddling mint is to be really gentle," says Lee. Before you begin muddling—pressing an ingredient into the bottom of a glass—add a bit of liquid, such as simple syrup, to absorb the oils released during the muddling process.

But don’t push too hard or shred the mint leaves. That’ll unleash the bitter pigment chlorophyll (the stuff that makes leaves green) into your drink, yielding an unappealing freshly-cut grass flavor. Don’t do it!

Once you’ve got Lee’s straightforward tips down, you’ll never muck up mint again.