Fat Washing Cocktails With Ghee: Exploring The Indian Technique Bartenders Love
Mixology is an ever evolving art form and one of the techniques that is increasingly being practiced by many bartenders engaged in crafting modern cocktails is fat washing. This is a method that involves infusing spirits like whisky, rum or brandy with fat-based ingredients such as butter, bacon fat or ghee. The spirit then absorbs some of the dense components in these elements, including their aromatic compounds, leaving behind any fatty residue. The technique leads to the creation of spirits that enrich the drink’s texture and add subtle flavour nuances without making the blend greasy.
And one of the ingredients used for fat washing in modern bartending is ghee. While it is a staple across Indian households, ghee or clarified butter’s incorporation in mixology spells a move for this ingredient which instantly places it on a dynamic global cocktail-making map. As ghee is being used more and more for fat washing, so too bartenders are beginning to recognise its potential as a mixology essential.
Read on below to know more about fat washing cocktails with ghee and why bartenders are leaning more and more towards an exploration of this Indian technique:
Using Ghee
For bartenders, using ghee as the base for fat washing is a preferred alternative because of its nutty aroma and rich flavour. Free from milk solids, ghee is also remarkably easier to strain following infusion. Moreover, it adds caramel-like, roasted flavours into liquors which complement their flavour notes. Ghee is excellent for fat washing dark spirits like whisky, dark rum and certain spiced spirits as it introduces Indian-inspired aromas like toasted nuts and subtle spice into the liquors which pair exceedingly well with their flavours.
Fat Washing Spirits
The simplest method for fat washing spirits with ghee is to warm it gently before combining with whisky, rum or any dark spirit of choice. Let this mixture sit at room temperature overnight and then freeze it so the fat solidifies on top. Strain carefully through a fine mesh or cheesecloth to remove solids. What would be left behind is a silky, aromatised spirit full of a creamy texture and rounded flavour.
Also Read: Ghee Roast Meets Cocktails: Here Are Top 5 Drinks To Serve With This Classic
Flavour Explorations
One of the reasons bartenders are leaning towards ghee as their primary fat washing ingredient is the flavour depth it manages to bring into the base spirits. Its buttery notes, elevated nuttiness and light caramelised effects incorporate a lot of nuance into blends. If that’s not enough, fat washing imbues into spirits a velvety texture, which in the case of ghee is complemented by its overall deep tasting notes.
Excellent With Cocktails
Ultimately, imperative to fat washing is the creation of base spirits that can be suitable additions for building versatile cocktails. The tasting notes that ghee brings into drinks complements spiced syrups, citruses or smoky elements often incorporated as flavour accents in several drinks. A ghee washed whisky would then pair suitably with flavour infusions such as ginger beer, saffron or cardamom syrup, whereas fat washed rum can balance tropical fruity flavours and sweeteners like maple syrup or a jaggery and ginger concoction.
Signature Regional Blends
Another reason why bartenders prefer ghee as a fat washing ingredient is because of the possibilities it opens up for a regional flavour exploration. This means, bartenders can now experiment with savoury and sweet ingredients such as curry leaves, saffron, nutmeg, green tomatoes, jaggery and herbal teas as ingredients which bring a local, regional flair into modern cocktail blends. Since ghee pairs beautifully with many of these staples, using ghee washed whiskies and rums becomes a way to infuse complementary flavourful, indigenous flourishes into several mixes.
Drink Responsibly. This communication is for audiences above the age of 25.
