Full shaken starting build
Shake with ice, then serve as the house recipe directs.
Cordial Craft Professional Service
A measured system for real service
Train the build.
Protect the drink.
A practical station-to-shift guide for bartenders, trainers, and beverage managers using Cordial Craft Zero-Sugar Lime Cordial.
- Shake before use
- Refrigerate after opening
- Measure every pour
Five-minute pre-shift briefing
Set the station before you teach the pour.
Make sure the team knows the house recipe, where the chilled bottle belongs, how to measure the drink, and who to ask before changing it.
- 01Read the label
Confirm the current bottle, ingredient declaration, serving facts, and handling directions.
- 02Set the bottle
Shake before use. After opening, return it to the refrigerator between service periods.
- 03Set the measure
Use a clean, accurate jigger. Free-pouring turns a controlled build into a moving target.
- 04Set the serve
Stage the specified spirit, ice, glass, garnish, carbonation, and any modifier.
- 05Make the reference
Taste one measured drink at the temperature and dilution a guest will receive.
- 06Know when to ask
If the drink is off, remake a small test and involve the shift lead before changing the house specification.
Starting structures
The ratio starts the conversation. The finished glass ends it.
These are starting points for lime-forward drinks, not universal finished recipes. Spirit, modifiers, ice, carbonation, temperature, and glass size still matter.
Compact
1.5 oz spirit
0.75 oz Cordial Craft
Smaller shaken starting build
Preserves the same 2:1 structure at a lower measured volume.
Lengthened
2 oz spirit
0.75 oz Cordial Craft
Sparkling highball start
Build the non-carbonated ingredients over ice, or shake them first if the house recipe calls for it. Add soda water at service. Never shake a carbonated mixture in a closed shaker.
Sensory diagnostic
Change one variable, then taste again.
Temperature and dilution can imitate recipe problems. Check the process before rewriting the build.
Open the full cocktail balance diagnostic →Too sweetAccuracy, temperature, dilution
Check first: The jiggered pour, every sweet modifier, and service temperature.
Try next: Remake a smaller measured sample. If the specification allows, test a slightly smaller cordial or sweet-component measure. Do not add acid blindly.
Too tartAccuracy, dilution, serving temperature
Check first: The sour ingredients and whether the drink reached expected dilution.
Try next: Retest with measured dilution or a smaller cordial measure where the recipe allows. Record the change.
Hot or spirit-forwardTemperature before ratio
Check first: Ice, chilling, shake or stir time, and pre-dilution.
Try next: Chill and dilute a fresh measured sample more completely before changing the spirit-to-cordial ratio.
Thin or wateryIce contact and structure
Check first: Over-dilution, warm inputs, and pour accuracy.
Try next: Rebuild. Water cannot be removed from a finished drink. Use the same house recipe with colder ingredients or a measured time on ice.
Flat or dullAroma, carbonation, freshness
Check first: Service temperature, carbonation, garnish condition, and whether each ingredient is fresh.
Try next: Refresh the garnish or aromatic finish and taste again before changing the liquid measures.
Set the house recipe
Turn a good test into a repeatable house specification.
A good house recipe should work for the next bartender, too. Test it with the ingredients, tools, and conditions your team will use.
- 1Define
Name the exact drink, vessel, ice, garnish, carbonation, and service method.
- 2Measure
Jigger every liquid. Record dashes, drops, and hands-on components without inventing bulk equivalents.
- 3Test
Use actual service temperature, intended ingredients, glass, and finish.
- 4Change
Change one variable per test so the result can be understood.
- 5Compare
Taste the candidate beside the reference. Include presentation and aroma, not liquid alone.
- 6Record
Write the final measures, sequence, ice contact, glass, garnish, and permitted substitution.
- 7Verify
Train the written build, observe a live repetition, and spot-check it during service.
Drink / version
Approved by / date
Glass / ice
Method / finish
Before you batch
Scale the measured liquids. Keep service work visible.
Start with a single drink you have made and tasted. Multiplying the measures does not determine dilution, storage time, food safety, or alcohol-service requirements.
Open the batch calculatorMake and taste one drink first.
Write each liquid measure and the intended number of drinks. Shake the cordial before measuring it into the batch. Do not convert dashes, mint leaves, or garnish counts into guessed bulk volumes.
Test a small scaled sample.
Use the planned temperature, ice, glass, and finish. If adding measured water, record it and recalculate the serving portion. Keep soda, fresh fruit, mint, foaming ingredients, and garnishes separate unless the specific batch method has been tested.
Label and brief the shift.
Record the recipe version, preparation date and time, serving portion, preparer, and at-service ingredients. Follow the operator's date, lot, storage, and food-safety procedures. This guide assigns no opened-bottle or batch shelf life.
Compare with the reference.
Finish a measured portion exactly as the guest will receive it. Add soda after any shaking. Compare with the single drink; investigate drift in a small measured sample before adjusting the full batch.
Menu and guest language
Say only what the finished drink supports.
Cordial Craft's label can support facts about Cordial Craft. A menu claim about a cocktail must account for every ingredient and the exact measure used.
Useful and precise
Lead with flavor and build.
- Describe spirit, aroma, texture, and style.
- Name Cordial Craft Zero-Sugar Lime Cordial accurately.
- Use a finished-drink sugar number only after the complete specification has been calculated and approved.
- Offer the current product label when a guest needs ingredient or serving information.
Do not improvise
Avoid inherited or implied claims.
- Do not transfer the cordial's 0 g total sugar or 0 calories to the completed cocktail. Alcohol still contributes calories.
- Do not treat “Truly Skinny” as a defined nutrition amount.
- Review the full ingredient list and exact measures for a finished-drink claim. Rounded label zeroes are not proof of absolute zero.
- Do not assume spirits, bitters, rims, garnishes, or modifiers are sugar-free.
Current label reference
Per 0.75 U.S. fl oz (26 g) serving of Cordial Craft
- Calories
- 0
- Total carbohydrate
- 7 g
- Total sugars
- 0 g
- Added sugars
- 0 g
- Sodium
- 15 mg
These values describe the cordial serving only. Unopened shelf life is 24 months. Refer to the bottle label for the complete Nutrition Facts, ingredients, and handling directions.
Check the complete recipe
Every ingredient counts.
- Read current labels for the cordial, spirit, every modifier, foam, rim, and garnish.
- Check the exact brand and recipe version. A substitute can change both the drink and its ingredient information.
- Keep the ingredient information available to the team. If it is incomplete, say so rather than guessing.
Check the preparation
Account for shared tools.
- Consider shakers, strainers, jiggers, blenders, scoops, garnish tools, bar mats, and prep surfaces.
- Use the venue's allergen cleaning and separate-equipment procedure. A quick rinse is not a verified cross-contact control.
- If suitable ingredients or a suitable preparation process cannot be confirmed, tell the guest. Do not promise an allergen-free drink.
Shift competency check
Observe the work, not just the answer.
Use this checklist to coach the team on the house recipe and service requirements. It does not replace required training or certification.
Team member / date
Trainer / follow-up
Operational troubleshooting
Fast answers for a busy shift.
The bottle shows natural settling.
Shake before use. Confirm the bottle and closure are clean and follow the current label and your operation's product-quality policy.
Two bartenders make noticeably different drinks.
Observe the complete build: jigger, ingredients, sequence, ice, time, glass, carbonation, and garnish. Compare both with the written reference before changing the recipe.
A batch does not match the single drink.
Compare measured inputs, planned dilution, temperature, carbonation, and service method. Correct a small measured sample first. Do not guess a change across the full batch.
A guest asks whether the cocktail has zero sugar.
Check the exact spirit, modifiers, bitters, rims, garnishes, and measures against the approved complete recipe. Explain what is verified without transferring the cordial's label facts to the entire drink. Alcohol still contributes calories.
The bottle has been open and the team is unsure about quality.
Do not invent a use-by period. Follow the current label, approved storage procedure, lot controls, and your operation's food-safety and product-disposition policy.
The approved ingredient is unavailable.
Use only a manager-approved substitution with a tested specification. Similar category names do not guarantee the same sweetness, acidity, body, or nutrition.
Build a service standard
Taste it together. Make it your house recipe.
For product questions, staff education, or professional-use planning, contact Cordial Craft at sales@cordial-craft.com.