Holy Smokes: A New Cocktail Trend

The newest cocktail trend in New York and San Fran is, according to Josh Durr of Molecular Mixology, using smoked ingredients in cocktail recipes. (And here I’ve been muti-tasking for all these years!) Anywhoo, since we love our smokers here in Big D, I thought I’d share a few recipes for the confident, at-home cocktailian. (Is that a word?) So jump, you confident cocktailians and smoke away. Good stuff.

Simply pour a chosen base, such as a spirit, salt, syrup, or the like, into an open sauce pot and heat over an aromatic wood in a conventional grill with a tightly sealed lid (can also be prepared in a smoker, if available). Adjusting the flavor infusion is a matter of timing – the longer the ingredient is exposed to heat, the more intensely flavored it will be. Another way to add a smoky flavor to cocktails is by using an already smoky spirit, like an Islay Scotch or Mezcal.

Three recipes to try:

Orchard Smoked Toddy
(Recipe care of Molecular Mixology’s Josh Durr)
1 ¼ oz Apple-wood Smoked Rye Whiskey
¼ oz fresh squeezed Lemon Juice
1 tablespoon of Clover Honey
¼ cup of Filtered Hot Water
Directions: Build in an Irish coffee cup. Stir well until honey is dissolved. Garnish with a sliver of ginger.

The Cinder
(Recipe care of Death & Company’s Philip Quarrels)
½ oz Fresh Lime Juice
½ oz Simple Syrup
¼ oz Mezcal
½ oz Silver Tequila infused with Jalapeno Peppers*
½ oz Repasado Tequila
2 Dashes Aromatic Bitters
Shake and serve in a coupe glass that has half rim of 2 to 1 Smoked Salt/Kosher salt mix
Mixologist Notes:
The exact recipe looks like a mess because it breaks a lot of rules, but sometimes it’s the exceptions that make cocktails exceptional.
Infuse the Silver tequila with just the seeds and membranes on the inside of the pepper. Four peppers to a bottle take about 10 or 15 minutes to extract the heat without the vegetable flavor.
After smoking the salt, combine with kosher salt in a coffee grinder and blend to a fine consistency. Its 2 parts smoked salt to 1 part kosher salt.

Smoked Anise
(Recipe care of Elixir’s H. Joseph Hermann)
1 oz Vodka
¼ oz Anisette
1/8 oz Islay Scotch
Star Anise
Directions: In a mixing glass, combine all ingredients and fill with ice. Stir well for 15 seconds and Julep Strain up into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a floating Star Anise.
Mixologist Notes:
I designed this cocktail for a Competition just as I was working on new drinks for fall 2008. I liked the strong Anise flavor highlighted with the Anisette, which also extracted the sweetness from the vodka. To complement it all, I added just a touch of smoke with the Scotch and left it at that. The drink is nice and simple, with great flavors (anise and smoke) that are normally challenging in cocktails.