Adding Aroma into Cocktails: California Coastal Tincture

Adding Aroma into Cocktails: California Coastal Tincture

Published at Thu, 12 Oct 2017 07:36:16 +0000

• My absolute favorite way to enjoy this tincture is a few drops in a Martini using a 1:1 London dry gin to vermouth. The aroma makes the drink more complex and pops.
• You can mist this over a citrusy Old Fashioned. The rosemary pairs really well with flavors.
• Add a few drops into a Cachaça Sour for an earthy, tangy mix.

Certain scents may sound strange when referencing a beverage, but think about how we throw about terroir with wine (and now, there’s lots of spirits doing that as well). You may like a drink because it reminds you of cut grass from bell peppers, or your childhood, or–and this is a favorite of mine–hot tar. Many times, the aroma of a beverage will keep me going again and back again. So I thought I’d try capturing a smell from one of my favorite places, the Central Coast of California, and putting it into a beverage.

Tinctures are easy ways to find new layers of taste and aroma to your cocktails without changing the amount of liquid already present. They also won’t change the ABV of your beverage in any way that is considerable. You only need a few drops or a spray or two and your beverage is transformed. All you actually need is a few components, a bottle of Everclear, and a few time.
Note: I find having some refillable spray bottles and droppers around useful to bottle my tinctures, but these are totally not needed. As long as you have an airtight, non-reactive container you should be nice (that glass canning jar your bone broth came in? Give that guy a wash and use that for storage!) .
Today we’ve teamed up with Everclear to recreate the aroma of the California coast in a tincture: refreshing green rosemary, wafts of woodsmoke, and a spray of salt air. Everclear has a neutral foundation and with the higher ABV it also helps to preserve the infusion with no additional flavors.
My name is Elana and I’m that weirdo at Target standing smelling every bottle attempting to determine which odor comes home. Scent is a powerful factor of what gets used in my home. If a dish soap, or hand lotion, or candle has a scent that does not jive with what I consider olfactory perfection, out it goes. Aroma with cocktails is also a similar experience.
2 ounce water
10 oz Everclear
2 tablespoons lapsang souchong tea
4 sprigs rosemary, cleaned

• In a small saucepan over high heat, combine water and salt and whisk vigorously to dissolve (it’s fine if not all the salt dissolves).
• In an airtight container with well fitting lid, combine Everclear, lapsang souchong tea, rosemary sprigs and salt mixture. Seal container and shake well to combine. Set aside giving a shake every day or so to the container.
• After 5 days remove the rosemary sprigs and taste the mixture for smokiness. Leave the tea in for another 3 times if you prefer your tincture to go even smokier.
• When desirable aroma/flavor is reached, strain the contents through a coffee filter into a clean, airtight container. Store in a cool, dark place for up to 6 weeks.

So, let us make this tincture and then I’ll give you a few quick and simple ways to use it after it’s done! Who knows, maybe this will inspire you to make your own tincture or, err, hand soap.

This post was created in partnership with Everclear. Thoughts and recipe are my own.
To learn more about Everclear and their Make It Your Own Campaign, click here!

How do I use this tincture?

Source: Cocktail Making