Techniques
Advanced Mixology Techniques Made Easy
Making showstopping cocktails doesn’t have to be a challenge!
Every now and then, we fall in love with a cocktail that uses innovative ingredients like foams and crystal-clear ice. Though making these sips can be intimidating at first glance, we’re here to show you it doesn’t have to be a challenge! No need for a stash of specialized equipment— explore our go-to alternative methods to make even the most advanced mixology techniques more accessible.
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1. Smoking Cocktails
We love the deep and rich complexity that smoke offers to a drink, but we know that not everyone has a smoking tool. For an easier method of achieving that intoxicating aroma in your next sip, follow along with these steps below!
- Choose an ingredient that you’d like to smoke – we’d recommend wood chips, hearty herbs like rosemary or thyme that have a drier texture, and whole spices like cinnamon.
- In a tidy space over a fire-safe surface such as a metal sheet tray, take a match, ignite your ingredient and quickly extinguish. As it releases smoke, cover it with the inside of your cocktail glass and let settle while you make your cocktail.
- When ready to serve, simply remove the glass from the smoked ingredient and pour in your cocktail as normal.
The smoked dimension is much more subtle with this approach, especially compared to directly smoking the cocktail. However, the smell that hits your nose when you raise the glass to take a sip is absolutely divine!
Experience smoky indulgence with @jfdesfosses‘s Bee’s Penicillin!
Ingredients
- 2 oz Empress 1908 Indigo Gin
- 1 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
- ¾ oz Honey Ginger Licorice Syrup*
- Maple Wood Chips, to smoke
- Spritz of Mezcal
- Ginger Slice, to garnish
Method
In a cocktail shaker, add the gin, lemon juice, and syrup. Add ice, and shake for 10 seconds to chill. Next, prepare a rocks glass by igniting a pinch of wood chips on a heat safe and non-flammable surface and cover with your glass. Once smoke has filled the glass, add ice and strain the chilled cocktail into it. Spritz with mezcal, and garnish with a slice of fresh ginger. Enjoy!
*Honey Ginger Licorice Syrup
To make the syrup, add 4g of finely minced licorice root, 80g chopped and peeled ginger, and 250ml 2:1 honey syrup to a sous-vide bag and seal. Sous-vide at 80˚C for two hours. Alternatively, add the ingredients to a saucepan over medium heat, being careful not to evaporate too much water. Once warm, remove from heat and let infuse for about 30 minutes to an hour. Once cooled, fine strain and keep sealed in a container kept in the fridge for up to 10 days.
2. Clear Ice
We’re usually making our clear ice by partially freezing a water-filled insulated cooler and cutting the clear layer into our desired shapes. While the process of cutting the ice can be therapeutic, not everyone may find it as fun as we do! It also requires having sufficient freezer space for a small cooler to fit in, both of which not everyone has. Luckily, there’s an alternative for something more compact that you probably already have in your kitchen drawers. Queue the insulated mug!
Because of their insulated walls, we can apply the same directional freezing method that we use with a larger cooler! Follow along below for the steps:
- Start by filling your thermos with water. Leaving the lid off, place in the freezer for about 18-20 hours.
- We recommend not exceeding 24 hours since water expands and metal constricts as they freeze, which could damage your thermos if completely frozen. Fully freezing will also make removal more difficult.
- Take the thermos out of the freezer and place upside down on a tray. Wait for the ice to slide out before processing.
- Tip! If you find it’s taking too long for the ice to come out, you can run the outside of the cup with hot water to help melt part of the edges, making the block slide out easier.
- Once the ice is out, carefully cut off the water-filled layer with a serrated knife. Chip off the excess ice shards. To ensure a proper grip, we’d recommend wearing grippy, food-safe gloves, especially given the cylindrical shape of the ice.
- Once processed, store your ice cube(s) in a bag and keep in the freezer for future usage. With its cylindrical shape, we like how it fits in a wide rocks glass!
3. Foams
Did you catch our previous article on cocktail foams? For most of the recipes, we used a cream whipper to create that luxuriously foamy texture. If you don’t have one, though, an electric hand mixer will also do the trick! Simply beat all the ingredients together until they get nice and frothy and spoon out the foamy layer onto your drink. You can keep this stored in the fridge for an extra day and re-whip when ready to serve, but we’d recommend making only as much as you intend to consume at the time of making the foam for optimal flavour and texture.
Try out this method with a pineapple & coconut foam in @jfdesfosses‘ Gimlet Colada!
Ingredients
- 2 oz Empress 1908 Indigo Gin
- 1 oz Fresh Lime Juice
- ¾ oz Simple Syrup
- Pineapple & Coconut Foam*
- Roasted Coconut Rim
Method
Rim your glass with roasted coconut, and set aside. Add Empress Indigo Gin, lime juice, and simple syrup in a shaker with ice, and shake for about 10 seconds. Double strain into your chilled prepared cocktail coupe. Top with the foam, and sprinkle a pinch of roasted coconut over top.
*For the foam, add 175 g unsweetened coconut water, 115 g pure pressed pineapple juice, 20 ml fresh lime juice, one egg white, and ½ g xanthan gum (optional) to a bowl and beat with a mixer until nice and frothy. Top your cocktail by spooning on the foamy layer.
The next time you see a cocktail with elaborate ingredients that you’re itching to try, be sure to keep these tips in your back pocket! The final result may end up being a bit different from what you would get with the original method, but it will make for a stunning sip nevertheless. After all, we always encourage you to get creative and use whatever you have at your disposal when mixing up some tasty drinks!
For more cocktail inspiration, you know where to look – head on over to our Instagram, Cocktail Page, or Blog!
Sip responsibly!
