How Cocktails Work
Ditch memorizing hundreds of recipes. Learn the simple ratios, shaking physics, and flavor rules that let you mix balanced, professional drinks at home.
Like Duolingo, but for How Cocktails Work. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
A short one: 10 levels across 2 sections, about 20 minutes end to end, roughly 4 days at five minutes a day. It moves through The Golden Ratio and Shaking Technique and Stirred Drinks and the Home Setup. It starts from scratch.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in How Cocktails Work
- The standard sour formula follows a 2:1:1 proportion
- Two parts spirit are balanced by one part sour citrus and one part sweet syrup
- Using 2 ounces of base spirit requires 1 ounce of citrus juice and 1 ounce of syrup
- Fresh citrus provides natural peel oils and vibrant acidity that lift the drink
- Bottled citrus juice contains preservatives and pasteurized juice that taste dull and oxidized rather than fresh
- Granulated sugar dissolves very poorly in cold liquids, settling into a gritty layer at the bottom of the glass
- Simple syrup is pre-dissolved sugar and water in equal parts that blends instantly into cold spirits and ice
- A classic Daiquiri is rum, lime juice, and simple syrup
- A Gimlet is gin, lime juice, and simple syrup
- A Whiskey Sour is whiskey, lemon juice, and simple syrup
- Swapping only the primary liquor transforms the sour blueprint into distinct classic cocktails
- Ice releases melted water that blends directly into the cocktail as an active ingredient
- A controlled amount of water softens the stinging heat of pure alcohol
- Dilution unmasks subtle citrus, herbal, and botanical flavors that high-proof alcohol overpowers
- Drinks with citrus juice, fruit juice, cream, dairy, or egg white need vigorous shaking to fully blend together
- Shaking whips tiny air bubbles into dense or cloudy ingredients to give the cocktail a frothy, velvety texture
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives How Cocktails Work the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
What is the classic proportion used for making a standard sour cocktail?
Get it right to open this lesson and 9 more in the app.
How to learn How Cocktails Work, step by step
Go in order. 10 short levels across 2 sections, about 20 minutes in all, five minutes a day.
- 1
The Golden Ratio and Shaking Technique
- The Sour Blueprint
- Dilution and the Mechanics of Shaking
- 2
Stirred Drinks and the Home Setup
- Stirring Spirit-Forward Drinks
- Stocking and Customizing at Home
2 sections · 4 units · 10 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
Questions about How Cocktails Work
How do I learn How Cocktails Work?
Go in order: start with The Golden Ratio and Shaking Technique, then Stirred Drinks and the Home Setup. On Tomo that's 10 short levels, about 20 minutes in all, played five minutes a day. Start free and play the first level in under a minute.
Is there a Duolingo-style app for How Cocktails Work?
Yes. Tomo works like Duolingo: short daily lessons, streaks and quick quizzes. How Cocktails Work is one of its free courses, and you can type any other topic to get a course of your own.
Is the How Cocktails Work course free?
Yes. How Cocktails Work is playable on Tomo's free plan, which doesn't expire. No credit card, no waitlist. Download the app and start your first lesson.
How long does it take to learn How Cocktails Work?
10 levels across 2 sections, about 20 minutes of play in total. It's built for five minutes a day, so you finish it a little at a time instead of all at once.
Do I need any background to start How Cocktails Work?
No. It's pitched at a beginner level, so it starts where you are and builds up. If you can tap a phone, you can start.
Tomo is in ChatGPT
Tomo is also a ChatGPT plugin: the same playable courses, built and played inside your chat.
Add Tomo to ChatGPT- What to ask
- “Make me a Tomo course on black holes.” “Turn this chat into a Tomo course.”
- What you get
- Quick questions with instant feedback, hearts and stars, ready to play in about a minute.
- Where it goes
- No sign-up to start. Connect your Tomo account and your streak carries on in the app.
You pick the voice
How Cocktails Work is taught in the Bestie style: your friend who just gets it. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
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Start How Cocktails Work today.
Download Tomo, search How Cocktails Work, and play your first lesson in under a minute.