3 Smoked co*cktails to Make at Home | co*cktail recipes (2024)

Smoke is the trendiest co*cktail ingredient right now and the secret behind the most exciting beverages in the most fashionable bars worldwide. Let’s talk about smoked co*cktails that you can make at home.

Smoke has always been a favoring agent, more often than not, in our food. Smoked sausages, ham, salmon, and even spices like paprika rely on smoke for preservation and flavor. And every time we cook something over the fire, we infuse it with smoke. The same thing happens with drinks. Liquids can absorb smoke scents! Find a few examples below.

What You Need to Make Smoked co*cktails

Portable smoke machines for culinary use have become more available, but they’re not the only way of infusing smoke into a drink. If you have a butane torch or a powerful-enough butane lighter, you can quickly light up wood chips, tea and other fuel types!

1. Smoked Old Fashioned

The famous Old Fashioned, a combination of Bourbon, a sugar cube, water and a dash of bitters, is one of the easiest co*cktails to make — it is also one of the oldest!

Light a few cherry wood chips with a torch and place your glass on top of the wood chips. Prepare the co*cktail in another container and swiftly pour it into the glass tainted with smoke.

3 Smoked co*cktails to Make at Home | co*cktail recipes (1)

2. Smoky Bloody Mary

Let’s use another method to infuse smoke flavors into everyone’s preferred brunch co*cktail. In this case, use your favorite Bloody Mary co*cktail recipe, and add a few drops of liquid smoke — you’ll find it amongst other meat condiments in any supermarket.

A few drops of liquid smoke go a long way. If you want a more natural alternative, half a teaspoon of smoky paprika can infuse the tomato-based co*cktail with smoke beautifully.

3 Smoked co*cktails to Make at Home | co*cktail recipes (2)

3. Smoky Manhattan

A third way of infusing co*cktails takes more time and preparation. In this case, let’s use a smoke gun to fill a decanter with smoke using your choice of wood chips. Then pour Bourbon or rye whiskey into the decanter. Shaking the container might help the spirit absorb the smoke faster.

Once you have your very own smoked spirit, mix yourself a drink with it. For example, a Manhattan with a splash of sweet Vermouth and bitters. Serve it in a coupe or Martini glass and garnish it with a cherry!

3 Smoked co*cktails to Make at Home | co*cktail recipes (3)

Pair Smoked co*cktails with Food?

Smoky beverages go naturally well with smoky food, and there’s plenty to choose from. Smoked sausages are an easy decision, and so is food flavored with paprika, which has a delightful smoky scent.

Of course, anything cooked over charcoal or an open flame will be smoky, including all types of grilled red or white meat and veggies. From smoked ham to a thick char-grilled rib-eye, pairing food with smoked co*cktails is easy.

And there’s more. Smoked co*cktails are also compatible with non-smoky food — experiment with cheese, cured meat and even desserts to find the right combinations for your taste buds.

Smoky is Always Better

Who knew smoke could make food and drinks so much more interesting? Besides, smoke is instantly recognizable on the nose and palate, and it usually takes us back to our fondest memories.

Smoky drinks are not going anywhere. Just like our favorite smoked foods have been around for centuries, expect smoky drinks to be trendy for many years. Most importantly, one must not be afraid of infusing food and beverages with smoke, a somewhat-free flavoring that everyone recognizes and loves. Add a smoky personality to your co*cktails and light up the grill for a well-paired meal!

3 Smoked co*cktails to Make at Home | co*cktail recipes (2024)

FAQs

What are the 6 basic co*cktails? ›

They are the Old Fashioned, Martini, Daiquiri, Sidecar, Whiskey Highball, and Flip. In each drink, every ingredient falls into at least one category.

Does smoking co*cktails actually work? ›

Improves the taste of your co*cktails

Smoke enriches drinks by adding various layers of flavor to them. For example, you can make whiskey taste sweeter using smoke dust made from Applewood. on the other hand, adding mesquite wood smoke to whiskey gives it smoky notes bringing out more of the deep charred barrel notes.

How do you make a smoking drink? ›

To create the drink, bartenders first smoke the snifter with hickory woodchips and then place a cap on top. The drink is presented to the patron as a glass full of twisting, billowing smoke. After setting it down, the cap is removed and the server pours the drink inside.

How to make smoke infused co*cktails? ›

Place the co*cktail cherry and orange peel in the glass. Fill the glass with smoke from the smoking gun and cover the glass with larger glass or pitcher. Wait 2 minutes, then release the smoke. Then fill the glass with smoke again for another 2 minutes, then release.

What are the top 3 drinks? ›

7 Most Consumed Beverages Around The World
  • Water. Water is the most popular beverage on the planet. ...
  • Coffee. This rich, fragrant beverage is the world's most favorite beverage, consumed by many as they begin their day and several times throughout the day. ...
  • Tea. ...
  • Beer. ...
  • Milk. ...
  • Orange juice. ...
  • Soft drinks.

How do you make 3 margaritas? ›

Into a co*cktail shaker with ice, mix 3 parts tequila, 2 parts orange liqueur and 1 part lime juice, simple syrup, to taste and zest of one lime, if desired. Shake. Rub a wedge of lime around the rim of a rocks glass.

What is a 3 finger drink? ›

Three fingers of whiskey are pretty much the same concept as one finger. You will fill the glass to the height equal to the width of your three fingers. It measures roughly three ounces or two shots of distilled spirit.

What is the #1 co*cktail? ›

Margarita

What drinks impress a bartender? ›

Drinks Bartenders Make When They Want to Impress Someone
  • Smash. "The co*cktail I make to peaco*ck a bit for co*cktail nerds is a Chartreuse Smash—interesting flavors, fun presentation, and odds are they've never had it before. ...
  • Last Word. ...
  • Old Fashioned. ...
  • Vermouth. ...
  • Pirata. ...
  • Mezcal. ...
  • Mexican Manhattan. ...
  • Ramos Gin Fizz.
Mar 23, 2018

What are the 3 main alcoholic drinks? ›

Alcohol beverages can be categorized into 3 main types: wine, spirits, and beer. Certain alcoholic drinks contain more alcohol than others and can cause drunkenness and alcohol poisoning more quickly and in smaller amounts.

What is the coolest co*cktail? ›

  • Jungle Bird. A 1970s gtropical drink from the Aviary bar in Kuala Lumpur, the Jungle Bird is made with rum, Campari, lime and pineapple juice and sugar. ...
  • Long Island Iced Tea. Oh dear. ...
  • Gin Gin Mule. ...
  • White Lady. ...
  • Cosmopolitan. ...
  • Zombie. ...
  • Hanky Panky. ...
  • Vodka Martini.
Jan 7, 2021

Is smoking co*cktails healthy? ›

But smoking alcohol isn't healthier — it carries serious health risks. You absorb alcohol in 8 to 20 seconds when you're inhaling it versus 20 minutes when you're drinking it. And unlike with a drink, you can't keep track of how much you're having. If you go overboard, there's no going back.

What do bartenders use to make drinks smoke? ›

Dry ice is famous for its magical way of making drinks bubble and boil, releasing wispy tendrils of smoke into the room. There's nothing more fun than holding a smoking co*cktail!

How long should I smoke my co*cktail? ›

So, How Long to Smoke a co*cktail? The idea behind smoking a drink is to allow the liquid and the smoke flavors to combine into a new unique flavor. Most experts say you should wait anywhere between 3-5 minutes for the smoke to work its magic. But you're free to experiment depending on your personal preference.

What seasoning gives smoke flavor? ›

Smoked Paprika

Just a pinch or two adds an incredibly smoky flavor to dishes — try a little in soup or in a dry rub for meat and fish.

What are the 4 basic methods in making co*cktails? ›

Basic methods for preparing co*cktails:

Shake — Shake; Build — Construct; Stir — Stir.

Can you smoke vodka drinks? ›

Gin and vodka-based co*cktails

These themselves can be smoked to impart flavor. Botanical oils can be used to soak wood chips or herbs such as ginger or rosemary can be smoked as can salt, ginger citrus peels.

What is a smoked glass drink? ›

Fire it up! Let the smoke from a piece of oiled wood imbue your glass and ice with delicate smokiness. Add ice and interior garnish to your glass. Torch a piece of wood sprayed with essential oils (here orange oil is used).

How to make smoky whiskey? ›

Ingredients
  1. 1 teaspoon maple syrup.
  2. 2-3 dashes orange bitters.
  3. 2 drops liquid smoke*
  4. 2 ounces Whiskey.
  5. 2 Cinnamon sticks.
  6. Ice (large whiskey ice cube)
  7. Cloche.
  8. Smoking Gun.

Can you add liquid smoke to co*cktails? ›

In co*cktails, a few dashes of liquid smoke will give any drink a fatty, rounded depth and rich smokiness. Try it in your next Dark and Stormy. A word of caution, though: Liquid smoke is powerful and can easily take over a co*cktail. Use an eyedropper and apply carefully as you would bitters.

What is the strongest common co*cktail? ›

Aunt Roberta

Considered to be the strongest co*cktail in the world, this drink contains 100% alcohol, with absolutely no mixers whatsoever. Gin, vodka, absinthe, brandy and blackberry liquor are mixed together in equal parts are used to create this lethal mix.

What is the 2 most popular drink in the world? ›

Tea. Tea, the second most consumed drink in the world, is produced from infusing dried leaves of the camellia sinensis shrub, in boiling water. There are many ways in which tea is prepared for consumption: lemon or milk and sugar are among the most common additives worldwide.

Is 3 margaritas too much? ›

No more than two. Switch to something else. There's so much sugar and acid in a margarita that it'll dull your taste buds for flavors, and you won't even taste what you're drinking.

How many shots are in 1 margarita? ›

For a typical Margarita there is one shot, or 1.5 oz of tequila per glass.

How many margaritas do you need to get drunk? ›

A standard margarita recipe contains one and a half ounces of tequila, three-quarters of an ounce of triple sec, and one ounce of lime juice. This makes for a pretty strong drink, strong enough that, depending on your weight and tolerance, you could be feeling the effects after just two drinks.

What does the pinky finger mean when drinking? ›

It comes from the fact that cultured people would eat their tea goodies with three fingers and commoners would hold the treats with all five fingers. Thus was born the misguided belief that one should raise their pinky finger to show they were cultured.

What is a 360 drink? ›

360 Grape vodka, island blue Pucker, and grape Pucker mixed with Finest Call sweet & sour and a splash of sprite.

What does whiskey 4 fingers mean? ›

Whiskey is often measured in “fingers”. Simply hold your finger next to the glass and pour yourself a finger's width. For instance, if you were to order two fingers of whiskey, you'd end up with roughly two adult-sized finger widths of whiskey in your glass. Simple enough?

What liquor is best smoked? ›

Scotch, bourbon and mezcal already have wood-like notes, and smoking components of the whole co*cktail can be used to enhance those flavors.”

What makes a co*cktail smoky? ›

co*cktail smokers (also known as smoking guns) are small units that add hints of smoke to your drink. In essence, you place wood chips into the device, light it, and the unit will coax smoke through a tube and into a glass or vessel.

How long should you smoke a co*cktail? ›

So, How Long to Smoke a co*cktail? The idea behind smoking a drink is to allow the liquid and the smoke flavors to combine into a new unique flavor. Most experts say you should wait anywhere between 3-5 minutes for the smoke to work its magic. But you're free to experiment depending on your personal preference.

What liquors are smoky? ›

Peated Scotch Whisky: For many bartenders, a peat-heavy Islay Scotch whisky will be the first spirit the comes to mind when thinking in terms of smoky flavors. Peated whiskies get their smoky, savory qualities from the use of malted barley that has been dried out in an oven fueled by burning slabs of earthen peat.

How do you drink a smoked co*cktail? ›

Part of the fun of smoking co*cktails is the presentation. Bring the glass out on a plank or heat-proof tray with the ingredients already burning, so your guests can watch the smoke swirl. Then flip the glass and pour in the drink. You can also use the smoked ingredients, such as cinnamon sticks and herbs, as garnishes.

Is it safe to smoke co*cktails? ›

It is safe to use co*cktail smokers; however, just like any implement with an open flame, you still need to use them carefully. Always follow the manufacturer's directions, and use common sense to make sure you're not likely to cause any fires you didn't intend for!

What does smoking the glass do to a co*cktail? ›

“Smoke helps to smooth out the other ingredients, which allows them to blend in the best way possible,” says Ravin Buzzell, bartender at Ysidora in San Juan Capistrano, Calif. “When done well, it will bring out consistency and balance in a drink.” The smoke can also bind to a drink.

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