Tag: alcohol
Spirited Discussion: Vegan Cocktails
No matter how many times the spirits are distilled, the world of cocktails remains as murky as ever. Labeling laws are lax compared to any other edible product available for purchase, allowing producers to omit all potential allergens, origins, methods, and co-packers. Broad assumptions can safely be made about the basics, but as soon as any flavors are invited to the party, all bets are off. It’s tough being vegan and enjoying a truly happy hour.
Even well-meaning bartenders often forget the little details, like fish-based Worcestershire sauce in bloody Mary mix, or honey syrup sweetening a gold rush. There are some common sense guidelines to follow for keeping spirits high, but the best advice I can give? Trying your best means making mistakes sometimes, especially if you’re already one or two drinks in. I know I’ve gotten it wrong, only to find out days or even weeks later. It sucks, but it doesn’t make you any less vegan, and if it’s not a matter of allergies, it won’t hurt you either. Live, learn, and raise a glass to all the straight-up imperfections along the way.
Alcohol Processing Pitfalls
Based on some of the bizarre ingredients chosen to filter various spirits, you’d think that producers were already drunk by the time they clocked into work. These antiquated, animal-based components include:
- Gelatin – Best known for creating chewy gummy bears and bouncy marshmallows, it’s also used to filter some types of alcohol and remove sediment. Sadly, it comes from a much less whimsical place. We’re talking about the skin, tendons, and bones, primarily from cows and pigs. Kosher gelatin is no better, as it’s typically sourced from fish.
- Casein – This cow’s milk protein can affect the brain like hard drugs, which explains why people can get legitimately hooked on cheese. This versatile ingredient also sneaks into adhesives, paints, and various industrial products. In booze, it’s another clarifying component that won’t show up on the final label.
- Isinglass – Imagine, if you will, the dried bladders of various fish, including cod and sturgeon, in every glass. Yes, fish bladders are just what your cocktail needs for that extra special touch. For better or for worse, you won’t be able to taste or see it.
Common Cocktail Flavorings and Fillers
Creative mixology knows no bounds, which can sometimes become problematic for those with dietary or ethical concerns. When in doubt, always ask for specifics.
- Cream and milk – When you’re craving a real treat, thick and luscious liqueurs can make you feel like you’re drinking melted ice cream. Not all bottles with “crème” on their labels are guilty of deriving their richness from dairy fats, but unless I can confirm otherwise, I personally would stay away. Even in the case of coconut cream, this plant-based milk is sometimes padded with unlisted, unnecessary dairy derivatives.
- Eggs – There’s more than on way to crack an egg, and that’s part of the problem when ordering a vegan mixed drink. The classic example that comes to mind is the beloved eggnog. Egg whites are popular for creating foams and many types of “fizz” cocktails, adding a velvety texture instead of more harsh bubbles from seltzer or sparkling wine. Whether they use the whole egg or just the yolk, these cocktails should be off the menu for plant-based people.
- Honey – Often billed as a more natural sweetener, honey comes at a steep environmental price. This is an easy fix, though: Just ask the bartender to either omit it to embrace a more sour/bitter/bracing taste, or swap it for simple syrup, made from sugar instead.
Best Bets For Safer Spirits
Next time you want to stock your home bar, stick to the essentials to ensure higher quality and cleaner flavor across the board. Look hard enough and you’ll find exceptions to every rule, but generally speaking and especially for top shelf options, these are always vegan-friendly spirits because they’re distilled, rather than filtered:
- Vodka – Made from starches such as sorghum, corn, rice, rye or wheat, or potatoes
- Bourbon and Whiskey – made from a mixture of corn and grains
- Rum – Made from sugarcane
- Gin and Schnapps – Made from grains, such as wheat or barley with added juniper and/or herbs for flavoring
- Tequila – Made from agave cactus
Smart Choices Go Beyond Veganism
No matter what you raise a glass of, please remember to drink responsibly and know your limits. If you can appreciate the vegan virtues that go into crafting your favorite cocktails while savoring the moment with friends, so much the better.
Guac The Next Happy Hour With Avocado Margaritas
When avocados and tequila meet, something magical happens. This could be the start of a spiked salad or salsa, but the fusion I’m thinking of manifests as a frozen margarita, perfect for taking the edge off on a hot summer day. We’ve already seen that avocados can do amazing things with iced coffee, so why not take it to the bar and give it a shot?
A Brief History of Avocado Margaritas
Legend has it that Curra’s Grill in Austin, TX was the first to blend the savory green fruit into a sweet and sour margarita mix. As the story goes, it came about as a dare, but the results were no joke. Many customers undoubtedly order it for similar reasons, only to become hooked on the uniquely refreshing experience. Accented with a pinch of cilantro, tequila cuts through the buttery richness of the avocado with a fresh finish.
Not one to miss a trend, Epcot’s own avocado margarita has been incredibly popular since it hit the menu at La Cava del Tequila. The “happiest place on earth” takes a sweeter approach to appeal to the masses, adding melon liqueur to boost the bright green hue and ripe, fruity flavor all at once. The glass is rimmed with lurid pink hibiscus salt, amplifying the floral notes and of course, adding an eye-catching color contrast that you can’t miss from across the bar.
Key Differences in My Avocado Margarita Recipe
While I’m not trying to re-invent the wheel here, I do think there are a few tweaks that could make the modern classic even better.
- Swap the polarizing cilantro addition for spicy jalapeño. While strictly optional, it’s highly recommended for a little kick at the end of each sip, balancing out the creamy richness of the avocado.
- Use fresh citrus juices instead of prepared margarita mix or more flavored liqueurs. Prepared blends are never particularly fresh or natural tasting, and almost always cloyingly sweet. Personally, I’d rather taste the tequila than cover it up, especially if I’m paying for a top shelf bottle.
- Use flaky sea salt rather than kosher salt for the rim. It dissolves more easily for a gentler saline hit, rather than a blast of salt from chunky granules.
- Forgo the added sugar or agave. I’d much prefer to lean in on the savory flavors of the avocado here rather than turn the mix into a boozy milkshake.
The Best Tequila For Making an Avocado Margarita
Any type of tequila will make a fine margarita. For the best blend though, I would recommend:
- Reposado, for its subtle sweetness, is my top pick to round out this blend with a smooth finish.
- Blanco, with more vegetal notes, would be great with a spicier take using the optional jalapeno.
Avocados simply make everything better. From breakfast toast to a happy hour toast, these alligator pears will always serve you well.
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New Old Fashioned
Drink Your Mushrooms?
Save your side eye for more questionable content; the idea of infusing mushrooms into drinks is nothing new. Add them to coffee or tea and call them nootropics, but at the end of the day, you’re staring down the same thing at the bottom of your glass. Though medicinal mushrooms are billed as a silent partner, contributing to your wellness cache without being outspoken about it, there’s no reason why bolder fungi can’t belly up to the bar.
Shiitake, The Original Flavor Enhancer
As we’ve discussed before, Sugimoto Shiitake are on a whole different level from the average spore. Rich with free glutamates that create an unmistakable savory flavor, it’s easy to leverage their inherent wealth of aroma and unique pungency to enhance any dish. The concept certainly doesn’t end when happy hour strikes.
When used properly, shiitake in any form elevates the subtle nuances in all the components that coalesce into a carefully curated, intentional eating or drinking experience. Like salt, it should never taste overtly salty (or mushroomy, in this case), but allow the other players to shine as their best, truest selves.
Why A Shiitake Cocktail Just Works
There’s real scientific evidence supporting the use of shiitake in mixology. To better understand why this pairing works, let’s break down the primary tasting notes:
- Earthy
- Woodsy
- Oaky
- Nutty
- Leathery
- Smoky
Remind you of anything else? Yes, whiskey is a match made in heaven for this umami infusion! That’s why my Umami Old Fashioned is a foolproof twist on the classic cocktail that will never let you down.
How To Make An Umami Old Fashioned
The classic old fashioned is one of the easiest cocktails you could pour. Just four ingredients stand between you and that first bold, bracing sip: whiskey, sugar, bitters, and orange peel. To add some extra umami into the equation, we need to factor in two more ingredients: dried shiitake and time.
- Begin by crumbling 1 large koshin shiitake cap into 2 ounces of bitters. Add 2 ounces of water, since the mushrooms will absorb some of that as they rehydrate. Cover and let sit for 24 hours in a dark, cool place. Strain out the shiitake pieces (which are brilliant in risottos or stews) and store the umami bitters in a bottle with a dropper.
- To make the cocktail itself, combine simple syrup and a few drops of umami bitters in a glass with 1 – 2 ice cubes. Simple syrup dissolves more easily than granulated sugar, and can be made with a simple ratio of 1 part sugar to 2 parts water. Simmer and then let cool in advance, storing it in a glass bottle at room temperature until ready to use.
- Add the whiskey and stir for about 30 seconds to combine. Pour into a clean glass with fresh ice. Twist a piece of orange peel over the top to release the essential oils before placing it in the glass.
- Completely optional, but if desired, garnish with a luxardo cherry; literally the cherry on top.
Better Bitters
Since a little bit goes a long way when we’re talking about bitters, even this small amount should last a good while. Don’t reserve your supply only for cocktails; it’s a rich flavoring agent for a wide range of cooking applications too. Consider incorporating it into:
Once you start sipping, you’ll never want to stock the bar without this secret ingredient again. Cheers, to a new fashioned Old Fashioned that can keep up with the times.
Stir Craze: The New Negroni
Equal parts gin, vermouth, and Campari, the classic Negroni is a reliable staple at any bar. Trouble is, that basic ratio doesn’t do each of the components the greatest justice, and quite frankly, it’s one of the last cocktails I would choose in any lineup.
For years, I thought that gin was the culprit. Served neat, it tastes like a liquefied Christmas tree. All juniper and pine, that resinous taste leaves a film of holiday despair in my mouth that won’t wash away. Some brands are certainly better than others, but it turns out that simply knowing the right way to mix it can do wonders.
How To Improve On A Classic Negroni
If you have similar feelings, let me tell you a little secret: Cut the vermouth with a sweet vinegar like white balsamic to diffuse some of the bitterness. It simultaneously adds a bright hit of acidic contrast for a fully realized, harmonious balance of tastes. The first time I experienced this alchemy was at Neighborhood Goods, a curious mashup of retail and restaurant. They used a fanciful Vermouth Vinegar which was quite luxurious indeed, and lit the spark to experiment with more accessible acids.
Other Vinegar Options
Vinegars are abundant these days, offering a diverse world of flavoring options that go well beyond salad dressing. If you want to experiment beyond white balsamic, other promising substitutes include:
- Sherry vinegar
- Champagne vinegar
- Coconut vinegar
Infused vinegars pose even greater options for customization; I’ve had amazing peach-infused vinegar that incorporated the bright, sunny essence of a summer day, and raspberry-infused vinegar with a brilliant tart-sweet interplay.
Want a sweeter, smoother drink?
Lean in on the citrus element and replace the vinegar with orange juice instead!
Shaken Or Stirred?
One other secret that applies well beyond Negronis: A drink that’s mostly or entirely composed of spirits like this should always be stirred, not shaken. It more effectively incorporates the ingredients without becoming diluted by the ice. Stir with a long spoon for 20 – 30 seconds, and that’s it. Serve with fresh ice for the best clarity and temperature.
The classic Negroni cocktail has been around for roughly 100 years, and it’s only getting started.
Hard Seltzer, the Easy Way
It’s no exaggeration to say that every company out there making anything vaguely resembling a liquid is now making hard seltzer. The Saturday Night Live sketch is so hilarious because it’s true, and you know what? I would legitimately purchase a variety pack including Men’s Jackets or Belts and Ties as flavor options. In fact, I have casually dropped cans of “Yard Darts” and “Skinny Dipping” into my basket as if those were on par with commonplace Lemon-Lime.
This profusion of hard seltzers can be chalked up to a number of intersecting trends. Alcohol sales shot through the roof during the height of pandemic lock downs, but most people weren’t trying to get smashed before noon. Lower ABV drinks have seen a resurgence as a more moderate choice, less intoxicating and more refreshing, perfect for a wide variety of occasions. Flavored sparkling water was already on the rise as a healthier alternative to sugary soda, so this extension of the concept appealed to the population that wouldn’t be as likely to crack open a heavy, high-calorie dark beer.
For me, a standard 12-ounce can of hard seltzer is the perfect serving size. It’s reasonable to drink in one sitting so leftovers won’t go flat, and is just potent enough to provide a comfortable buzz. Most 12-packs include four different flavors to keep things interesting, without having to commit to just one taste. Even if you get stuck with Jiffy Lube hard seltzer, it’s never so bad that it’s completely undrinkable.
That said, we can still do better. Hard seltzer is made from fermented cane sugar or malted barley, which is converted to alcohol. This takes special yeast and enzymes, just like wine-making. However, for even better and more consistent results, who said we need to go through all that rigmarole from scratch?
Here’s what you need:
Sparkling water and vodka. That’s it! You can use plain water and straight vodka to completely control the flavors through added extracts, fruit juice, or purees, or use infused options for one or either to make it even simpler.
If you’re hosting a party, set up a DIY hard seltzer bar with a variety of options for guests to mix their own. This way, they can also control the intensity of the alcohol, better accommodating both non-drinkers and heavyweights.
Here’s the magic formula:
- 14 Tablespoons (7 Ounces) Sparkling Water
- 2 Tablespoons (1 Ounce) Vodka (35% ABV)
= 1 Cup / 8 Fluid Ounces with 4.5% ABV
That’s roughly equivalent to most hard seltzers on the market. You easily have the advantage over the competition though, because it’s infinitely scalable and much less expensive in the long run.
If you want to go au naturel, cut the sparkling water with half fruit juice or puree, like peach nectar, apple juice, or tropical punch, both for taste and sweetness. That’s usually enough for me, but if you have a real sweet tooth, a drop of liquid stevia will help take off the edge.
If you’re a hard seltzer aficionado, what’s your favorite flavor? For upscale indulgence, I do love a bracing cucumber-basil lemonade, but by the same token, I still wouldn’t turn down Desk if you offered it.