4 REASONS TO SWITCH TO SAVOURY
IT’S A GREAT WAY TO MAKE YOUR FIVE-A-DAY QUOTA
Case in point: the Peas and Flowers cocktail at Outrage of Modesty in Cape Town, made with peas, nectarine, rose, lemon and pelargonium vinegar.
YOU’LL SIP SLOWER
The high sugar content of conventional cocktails can mask the taste of the spirits, making you qua quicker (i.e. more). A complex drink such as the the parsnip Bellini at The Grainstore in London is meant to be savoured slowly.
YOU CAN SKIP DINNER
Okay, not really but Eric Rivera, executive chef at The Bookstore
Bar & Café in Seattle, makes a good argument with his warm savoury cocktail the Duck Hunt, made with duck stock, Maldon salt, smoked black pepper, Génépy (a herbal Alpine liqueur) and absinthe, garnished with juniper berries, caraway seeds and smoked pepper.
YOU CAN HAVE EVEN MORE BACON IN YOUR LIFE
For those preferring smoky flavours in their glass, there’s the trendy mixology method of bacon-fat washing (infusing spirits with the flavour of fried bacon) pioneered by Don Lee at New York’s Please Don’t Tell. If you’re after the crunch, make like Hemingway Bar in Prague (or us!) and top your tipple with a roast rasher for the best swizzle stick ever.
“Savoury cocktails can be built around ingredients such as vegetables and salt, or made from savoury spirits – aquavit, gin and sherry. Smoky mezcal and certain scotches, can also add a savoury side to a drink” – Michael Dietsch, cocktail blogger and author.
PICKLEBACK THYME
Combine 4 T whisky, 1 T fresh lemon juice, 1 T pickle brine and 2 t simple syrup in a cocktail shaker with ice. Add 1 sprig fresh thyme and shake vigorously. Strain into a tumbler and garnish with a crispy, oven-roasted bacon rasher.
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