How to muddle fruit for a drink

Table of Contents Show

Here’s how to muddle mint!
How to muddle without a muddler?
Drinks with muddled mint, herbs, and fruit
Looking for more cocktail recipes?

Need to up your cocktail game? Here’s how to muddle mint to use in all your favorite cocktail recipes: the Mojito, Whiskey Smash, and more!

Making a cocktail and it calls for muddling? Muddling is a technique used in drinks to gently mash herbs or fruit to release their juices. This helps the flavors to bind with the alcohol better than simply using them whole. Muddling is used in many popular cocktails, like the Mojito and Whiskey Smash. As you might expect, there’s a bit of technique involved in muddling: you don’t want to mash your herbs to a pulp! Here’s how to muddle mint: you can also use this technique for other herbs like basil or fruit like lime and lemon.

Here’s how to muddle mint!

Need to up your cocktail game? Here's how to muddle mint to use in all your favorite cocktail recipes: the Mojito, Whiskey Smash, and more!

Fresh mint leaves (or other herbs: basil, rosemary, and so forth)

Cocktail muddler
Cocktail shaker

The right way to muddle mint: Place the mint leaves in the bottom of a cocktail shaker or large metal cup or bowl. Using a wooden cocktail muddler or unfinished wooden spoon, gently mash the mint 3 to 4 times to release the juices. It should look like this.
The wrong way to muddle mint: Do not mash the mint to a pulp! Here's an example of what it should not look like:

Here are the cocktail tools that are used for muddling. We make a lot of cocktail recipes, so we decided to invest in the professional grade! If you prefer, you can muddle without a muddler — see the section below.

Cocktail Shaker: A cocktail shaker quickly chills cocktails by shaking them against ice, then has a strainer so you can pour out the cocktail without pouring out the ice as well. It’s easiest to muddle mint in a cocktail shaker because it’s durable and you can then make the drink right in the shaker.
Cocktail Muddler: An unfinished wooden muddler is recommended so that no artificial flavors flake off into your drink.

How to muddle without a muddler?

You might be wondering: is there a way to muddle mint without a muddler? (How’s that for a tongue twister?) You absolutely can; here’s what we recommend:

What can I use instead of a muddler? Use a wooden spoon to gently mash the berries, lime wedges, and mint leaves.
What can I use instead of a cocktail shaker for muddling? If you’re muddling mint, we’d recommend trying it in a large metal cup or bowl: do not muddle in glass for safety reasons. Then if you’re looking to make a drink without a cocktail shaker: use a glass canning jar to put the drink ingredients and ice into, then cover the top and shake! Pour it through a strainer into the serving glass.

Drinks with muddled mint, herbs, and fruit

Now that you know how to muddle mint: let’s get to drinking! Here are our favorite drinks that use muddle mint, herbs or other fruit:

Muddled mint, lime and blackberries makes up this Berry Vodka Smash

Looking for more cocktail recipes?

Here are some more of our favorite cocktail recipes (where muddling is not required!):

Meet Sonja and Alex Overhiser: Husband and wife. Expert home cooks. Authors of recipes you'll want to make again and again.

1
Choose a gentle muddling tool. A small, flat wooden tool is ideal, such as the end of a wooden spoon or a French rolling pin (without handles). Plastic or hard rubber tools will also work, but require a delicate touch. Avoid muddlers with teeth, since these tear up the leaves too much.[1]
- A tough herb such as rosemary needs more breaking down. Follow the instructions for fruit instead.
- For instance, try using the wide, flat end of a wooden spoon. That will crush whatever you're muddling, without destroying it.[2]
2
Put the ingredients in a sturdy glass. Do not muddle in a delicate glass that may chip or break when struck. If the cocktail also calls for fruit, cucumber, or other non-herb ingredients, muddle them separately for best results.
- Granulated sugar tears into the ingredients as you muddle. This can be overkill for soft herbs, so add it with the fruit instead, or dissolve it in a few drops of water and add it to the cocktail separately.
Advertisement
3
Press and twist lightly. Mint, basil, and other soft leaves release bitter flavors when crushed or torn apart. Just press down gently with the blunt tool while you twist your wrist, then release.[3] Do this two or three times.
- Use your dominant hand to muddle while you hold the glass steady with your other hand.
- You only need to lightly bruise the leaves to release the oils and aroma.[4]
4
Finish the drink. The leaves are ready when lightly bruised, but still intact. You should be able to smell the herb, since the goal of muddling is to release flavorful, aromatic oils. You can leave the herbs in the final cocktail for presentation or strain them out, as desired.

1
Choose a muddling tool. Citrus fruits, cucumbers, and other fruits and vegetables can take a fair amount of pressure. A broad muddler is a great choice, especially if it has teeth to break into the skin. You can also improvise with the back of a wooden spoon, a mortar and pestle, or any blunt instrument.[5]
- Stainless steel or heavy plastic provide more heft than wood.[6] Note that fruit juice will stain some plastics.
2
Add small pieces to a sturdy glass. Cut citrus fruit into wedges, and hard ingredients such as cucumbers into ¼ inch (6 mm) thick slices.[7] Put these ingredients into a glass that you can press and grind without risk of chipping.
- If using a mortar and pestle, put the ingredients in the mortar bowl instead.
3
Add sugar if the recipe calls for it. If you are using granulated sugar instead of simple syrup, add it now. Sugar will dissolve in fruit juice more readily than in alcohol, so incorporating it at this stage can save your cocktail from a gritty fate.[8]
4
Press and twist. Hold the glass steady and cup the end of the muddler with your dominant hand. Press the tool down steadily onto the fruit rather than bashing the glass. Press hard and twist, then release and repeat. You can press against the sides or base of the glass.
- You'll want to muddle fruits and vegetables a little more aggressively than if you were working with herbs.[9]
5
Muddle until the fruit or vegetable releases aroma and liquid. The goal of muddling is to break up the peel and flesh to release flavorful oils and juices. You can stop when you smell a strong scent and see the ingredients release liquid, or continue muddling to intensify the flavor.
- Citrus fruit can release plenty of bitter oils when muddled with prolonged force. This can work well in sugary drinks such as the caipirinha or mojito. Use a lighter touch when muddling for drinks with no added sugar.[10]
- Cucumbers are ready after six or seven gentle presses.[11]
- Press berries and other soft fruits until pulverized.

Add New Question

Question

How do you muddle without a muddler?

Kady Richardson
Mixologist
Kady Richardson is a mixologist in the San Francisco Bay Area. Kady has completed the Comprehensive Bartending Training Program at The Cocktail Camp in San Francisco and specializes in creating approachable, at-home recipes for cocktails. Kady holds a BA in American Studies and an MA in Sociology from Stanford University.

Support wikiHow by unlocking this expert answer.

You'll want to use something with a wide base, like the spoon portion of a wooden spoon. If you need to, you can use something like a fork, but that might destroy your ingredients more than you want.
Question

Can I use a blender for cucumbers instead of muddling?

Not really. A blender will totally liquefy the cucumber, which will release stronger flavors. If you don't have a muddler, you can use the handle of a sturdy wooden spoon or ladle.

Ask a Question

Thanks!
Thanks!
Thanks!

Avoid tools made from aluminum or other reactive metals, especially when muddling with citrus. These can leach a metallic taste into your drink.
Muddling with ice in the glass just makes the process needlessly difficult. Add the ice afterward.
Avoid varnished or lacquered wood. The finish will eventually wear off into the cocktail.[15]

Muddling implement
Strong glass or Boston shaker
Ingredients for the drink

This article was co-authored by Kady Richardson. Kady Richardson is a mixologist in the San Francisco Bay Area. Kady has completed the Comprehensive Bartending Training Program at The Cocktail Camp in San Francisco and specializes in creating approachable, at-home recipes for cocktails. Kady holds a BA in American Studies and an MA in Sociology from Stanford University. This article has been viewed 114,120 times.

Co-authors: 13

Updated: May 6, 2021

Categories: Cocktails

Print
Send fan mail to authors

Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 114,120 times.

"I needed to learn how to muddle in order to make caipirinhas, which I discovered only recently. Thanks for the great explanations and images."..." more

Share your story