5 Ways to Add Smoke to Your Cocktails
This week’s guest article is written by Robyn Lindars, the “Grill Girl” behind GrillGirl.com. She has been writing about grilling and barbecue since 2008 and focuses on building unique recipes that involve every aspect of live-fire cooking. In today’s article, Robyn explores how to add smoke to cocktails. You can also find Robyn on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and YouTube. If you would like to write a guest article for The Smoke Sheet, please get in touch.
Early on in my blogging career, I was exposed to the concept of grilled cocktails at Kingsford University and it forever changed the way I think about adding smoke flavor to cocktails. Just like great BBQ, cocktails can benefit greatly from smoke flavor.
It’s actually easier than you might think to infuse smoke flavor to your favorite libation. Let the following five ideas inspire you to be the badass bartender you always knew you could be, with no trip needed to that pricey craft cocktail bar.
If you make a smoked cocktail, tag me on Instagram at @grillgirlrobyn so I can virtually clink a glass with you. Let’s get this smoked cocktail party started.
Smoked Ice
The next time you throw something on your grill or smoker and you’re ready to shut her down, add a pan of water to the smoker to let it absorb smoke flavor. Let it sit there for a few hours and get infused with smoke. If there are any char particles that have made it into the water, you can strain them out with a cheesecloth. Use this water to make ice cubes! Get the large square ice cube molds that are perfect for whiskey drinks and cocktails. I like to add a rosemary sprig for a fun visual in the drink, which adds an additional layer of flavor as the ice melts! View more on Instagram.
Grilled Citrus
Grilled citrus may be my first love when it comes to making cocktails. Take lemons, limes or grapefruit, dip them in sugar, and grill them up. The sugar and fruit caramelizes on the grill, which adds amazing flavor to your margarita, paloma or just about any cocktail that includes citrus. Juicing these grilled cocktails gives you a smoke infused juice that adds subtle smoky flavor to your cocktail. View more on Instagram.
Smoked Simple Syrup
Making a batch of smoked simple syrup will ensure that every cocktail you make until the batch runs out will have nice smoky flavor. Take a 9X13 pan and mix it with 2 cups sugar and 2 cups water. Let it sit on the smoker at 225 for 2 hours so the sugar can dissolve and the mixture can absorb smoke flavor. You can also add herbs or other ingredients to infuse the syrup with additional flavors like rosemary, mint, or jalapeño. It goes perfect in a margarita! View more on Instagram.
Cedar Plank Shenanigans
You’ve probably seen bartenders do this trick but it’s easy to recreate at home. Take a cedar plank you would usually use for grilling and take cigar shavings or (your favorite kind of tea works great too) and light them so they begin to smolder. Take your rocks glass and set it on top of the lit shavings. Let the glass sit there for a minute and now you have a glass full of cigar infused smoke that is ready for an ice cube and a generous splash of bourbon or whatever you fancy. View more on Instagram.
Smoking Gun
If you don’t own a smoker but want to add smoke flavor to anything, cocktails included, The Smoking Gun device makes it easy to have smoke flavor even if you’re an apartment dweller. This is a handheld cold smoking device that makes it easy to infuse just about anything with smoke flavor. The smoking gun will come with a few wood types you can choose from like apple and mesquite, but I like to take chai tea or cigar shavings to elevate the experience! This tool is also great for adding smoke flavor to soups and side dishes. Have fun with it! View more on Instagram.
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If you try any of these ideas out, please tag me on Instagram and good luck with adding smoke to your next cocktail!
Robyn Lindars
Creator and Editor-in-Chief, GrillGirl.com
Thank you to this week's sponsor B&B Charcoal. Click here to learn more!
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ADDITIONAL READS
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Malcolm Reed of How to BBQ Right and Chris Bohnemeier of Code 3 Spices — Meat America
This episode of the Meat America podcast features pitmaster Malcom Reed of How to BBQ Right who has won numerous competitions and awards and has a successful YouTube channel with over 1 million subscribers. He is a truly genuine guy who loves helping others learn how to BBQ and has also created the Killer Hogs line of sauces and spices to share his award-winning flavor profiles with the BBQ community. Also joining the show is Chris Bohnemeier, co-owner of Code 3 Spices, who helped create a lineup of spices and sauces and is a prolific name on the steak competition circuit. He has won several Steak Cookoff Association (SCA) events and in 2019, he placed 12th in the world finale! They will talk about competition cooking life and share some tips and tricks for starting your very own spice and sauce company. WATCH HERE
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—Grill Girl Robyn Lindars shows you how to infuse smoke flavor into a classic cocktail recipe.—
Smoked Old Fashioned
by Grill Girl Robyn Lindars
For this week’s Recipe of the Week, we chose this recipe for a Smoked Old Fashioned from Grill Girl Robyn Lindars. The smoke she infuses into this classic cocktail recipe adds a depth of flavor that compliments the bourbon well. Here she uses a handheld cold smoking tool called The Smoking Gun, which was mentioned in today’s article above. Serving this drink at your next gathering will surely impress your guests.
—Many of the largest barbecue events of 2020 have been canceled or postponed.—
In light of the constantly changing coronavirus crisis, we are leaving our events section blank for some time. Many events in 2020 have been canceled or postponed thus far. We’ll be updating our events section on our website with the most up-to-date information as we have it.
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