A Guide To Pairing Cinnamon With Spirits - Scotch, Dark Rum, Gin And Vodka
Cinnamon has a spicy flavour profile that surprisingly fits in a vast variety of foods and beverages. You can add it to desserts, tea, infusions, cocktails, you name it, and it will beautifully complement the recipe. So, if you’re planning on pairing cinnamon with your spirits, here’s a comprehensive guide to help you through the process.
Pairing Cinnamon With Scotch
For this pairing, you should pick a Scotch that is single malt or blended with subtle peaty tones. Avoid peated whiskies as they tend to overpower the cinnamon. As cinnamon has a lovely aroma, you can add a cinnamon stick if you enjoy your whisky neat and that will lend a spicy and sweet kick to the flavour profile. You can also combine lemon or orange zest along with a few drops of orange bitters to bring out the cinnamony flavour. For your first cocktail, try a Cinnamon Smoked Whisky Sour, which truly captures the essence of combining whisky and cinnamon. The smoothness of the whisky gets an aromatic spicy sweetness that really knocks it out of the park!
Pairing Cinnamon With Dark Rum
This combination is a clear winner and such a beautifully flavourful infusion considering the cinnamon brings in the spice and warmth while the dark rum adds to the warmth and lends a rich caramelised touch to it. So, if you’re about to pair them, don’t be stingy and pick a high-quality rum such as Captain Morgan Dark Rum. The longer the rum has aged, the more robust and rich flavours it will bring. Also, ensure you use fresh cinnamon. Or better yet, make your own cinnamon syrup and combine that with the rum. While combining the two, make sure that the spiciness of the cinnamon doesn’t overpower the flavours of the rum. You could also go one step ahead and combine the two in a citrus cocktail. Consider kicking up the combination up a notch by adding a few bitters in the mix. But be a little judicious with the amount of cinnamon you add because it can overpower the flavour palate of the drink if combined with dark rum.
Pairing Cinnamon With Gin
If you’re pairing it with gin, you should definitely select London Dry Gin, which is known to work well on account of its original botanical and spicy undertones. You can also pair it with more citrus and floral gins. To enhance the complexity and flavours of the cocktail, you can combine cinnamon, gin, rosemary, basil, and thyme. These complement each other so well and help enrich the flavour profile. However, be a little careful in terms of how much cinnamon you’re adding to the gin as you don’t want it to overpower the spices and flavours in the gin. You can also use a cinnamon stick as a garnish for your gin cocktail, along with star anise or a few cloves. You should try and create a Cinnamon Gin Fizz with Gordon's The Original London Dry Gin for your trial round.
Pairing Cinnamon With Vodka
The great thing about vodka is that it’s extremely neutral which makes adding ingredients to it that much easier. So, if you’re going to combine the two, you should opt for a neutral vodka like Smirnoff, or go for a citrus-flavoured vodka. But don’t pick a vodka with robust flavours because it will overpower the cinnamon. You should certainly consider infusing vodka with cinnamon syrup. That pairing is so delicious with its sweet, spicy, and smooth undertones and it really goes well in a lot of dessert and coffee-based vodka cocktails. You could try recreating a Cinnamon Apple Vodka Collins which tastes like an apple cinnamon pie in a chilled glass or even a Cinnamon Espresso Martini which is every coffee lover's delight!
As delicious as these drinks sound, make sure you enjoy them responsibly.
