PrintSweetening the Mix
Photograph from on jmilles Flickr
When it comes to sweetening a drink, many times sugar alone just won’t hack it.
The current issue of Imbibe includes a short article I wrote about one of the alternative sweeteners being rediscovered by bartenders: maple syrup. Yeah, I know, many people find the idea of mixing their Log Cabin with their Grey Goose absolutely revolting, but pure maple syrup mixed with a rich brown spirit, such as bourbon, dark rum or apple brandy, is capable of bringing much more flavor and character to a drink than a spoonful of sugar ever could.
While maple syrup has been showing up in a drinks in Boston, New York and San Francisco, agave nectar is another alternative sweetener that’s developing a fan base among bartenders. Recently it’s been mixed with tequila and mezcal in a Oaxaca Old Fashioned at Death & Co. in New York, and in a combination of Venezuelan rum, cherry brandy and fresh citrus at Zig Zag Café in Seattle.
The floral-shirted bartenders at tiki bars have long known that an unexpected sweetener can bring a lot of magic to a drink. At Forbidden Island in Alameda, California, honey has joined maple syrup and a battery of house-made syrups to lend an air of sweet mystery to the bar’s exotic drinks.
And then there’s a whole array of sugar-related sweeteners: rich demerara syrups, invert sugar syrups, caramel syrup—all bringing traces of their unique flavor along with sweetness to the finished drink. (Though molasses, which appeared in a handful of chest-thumping drinks in the early years of the republic, thankfully has yet to make a reappearance.)
Have you explored different ways of adding a little character to your drinks through creative sweeteners? Let’s hear it.
About the author: Paul Clarke blogs about cocktails at The Cocktail Chronicles and writes regularly on spirits and cocktails for Imbibe magazine. He lives in Seattle, where he works as a writer and magazine editor.
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5 Comments:
Maple with applejack or with Stone's Ginger. Nice to see some appreciation for my favorite flavor at last!
BaHa at 3:51PM on 03/19/08
My hubby started infusing mint into simple syrup for juleps and mojitos. Now, we've started doing the same with lemongrass and rosemary, not mixed of course. Very refreshing with vodka soda or vodka tonics. I've also been known to use the syrup from a can of litchees.
wookie at 4:30PM on 03/19/08
Also in Seattle, bartender Jamie Boudreau tops his bar's namesake drink, the Vessel 75 (bourbon, bitters, and orange zest) with maple syrup foam. Mmm...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/marriedwithdinner/1339461261/
anitaepler at 6:15PM on 03/19/08
@wookie, I've totally done that before!! saving the syrup from a can of lychees. i'm glad i'm not completely crazy :)
cafepeach at 6:43PM on 03/19/08
Lyle's Golden Syrup. Thin it out with a little warm water to make it easier to incorporate into a cocktail and it is fantastic. I use it with a house-made pecan-rye . . . ummmm . . .
TMFIII at 11:21AM on 03/20/08