Cinnamon Cocktails: 5 Ways To Infuse The Spice Into Fall Drinks
Cocktail craft has always experimented with different spices like cinnamon, cloves, pepper and star anise which are often added to alcoholic mixes to build an aromatic touch into these blends.
Warm robust notes of a spice like cinnamon infuses a lot of complexity into a cocktail recipe by imbuing it with an added layer of flavour.
Drinks like spiced rum punch or the hot toddy contain cinnamon as one of their primary ingredients. So too, variations of the Irish coffee and even an espresso martini cocktail include cinnamon in their recipe to add a spicy touch into the drink. Undoubtedly, cinnamon is used quite often in preparing cocktails during autumn, more so because its deep brown hues go well with the colours of the fall weather. Different hacks abound for adding cinnamon into cocktail recipes.
Here are some ways in which cinnamon can be infused into drinks prepared especially for the fall weather:
Cinnamon Sticks As Garnish
This one is a no brainer. Cinnamon sticks are often added to different cocktails like a spiced rum punch, cinnamon infused gin and tonic and a warm hot toddy to introduce their aroma and savoury touch into classic drinks.
This cylindrical cinnamon stick can be used to stir the drink so that its flavours are slowly released into the cocktail.
Subtle spicy notes of the cinnamon give the concoction a lot of complexity and depth while the deep brown of the spice matches the amber, brown and maroonish hues of the season making this garnish stand out as an autumn staple.
Cinnamon Powder
Cinnamon powder can be incorporated into cocktails to spotlight the flavour of this spice as one of the main components in the blend. Cinnamon powder sprinkled in cocktails like a classic gin and tonic or a signature martini cocktail can bring a robust layer of spicy and umami notes into the drink.
The spice powder can be made at home by grinding aromatic cinnamon bark and sifting it finely so all the small crumbs are removed and what is left behind is a light brown cinnamon dusting which packs a lot of taste.
Cinnamon And Sugar Rimmed Glasses
One of the ways in which cinnamon is used as a garnish in cocktails is in the making of powdered rims. A light flavour of the spice lands onto one’s palate when such a rimmed glass is used to serve drinks like the rum punch or hot toddy. Cinnamon and sugar powders can be blended to craft this spicy and sweet garnish. The rims of punch glasses or hot toddy mugs can be covered in simple syrup before dipping them in this mix to coat them completely.
Cinnamon Infused Simple Syrup
An increasingly popular ingredient among mixology experts is infused simple syrups that allow some really bold flavours to seep slowly into a cocktail. These infusions enable the creation of drinks which contain layers of very complex flavours that become unexpectedly pronounced in these recipes.
One such infusion is cinnamon flavoured simple syrup that can be added to cocktails like a margarita or mojito to introduce a savoury and spicy variation into these classic recipes. This syrup can be made easily at home by adding a couple of cinnamon sticks to simple syrup and allowing their flavours to seep into the mix before straining it.
Cinnamon Flavoured Rum
Spirits that contain the flavours of spices like cinnamon or cloves are often utilised in the making of fall drinks because they contain suitably savoury and spicy tastes which are a fall staple. One of the alcoholic beverages that can be infused with cinnamon is rum.
Often, cinnamon is added to dark rum and the jar containing this mix is stored away for a few days so the flavour of the spice seeps entirely into the spirit. This spiced rum is then used to prepare different mixes like hot toddy, spiced rum punch, a dark and stormy and more.
Drink responsibly. This communication is for audiences above the age of 25.
