Five Tips To Make Perfect Grilled Cocktails At Your Next Summer Bash
If you are fond of hosting a lively, cheerful outdoorsy party during summers, then you cannot go wrong with a quintessential barbecue. Summertime means warm breezes and pool parties along with delicious meats and veggies grilling on charcoals that are slipped between breads to make tasty sliders. Such a party will also have lots of potato, corn, veggie salad alternatives and crunchy crisps for a complete flavour explosion. And the one thing that stands out at your summer bash is undoubtedly your cocktail bar which introduces vitality, freshness and a rejuvenating feel to combat the sweltering heat.
When you are acting mixologist at such a gathering, you can make your drinks using one ingredient which will turn your alcoholic mixes into the star of the party. This is nothing but grilled fruits which are given a nice smoky finish on the barbecue you have already got going. Grilled fruits are a very trendy and succulent addition to your cocktails and have a lot of impact on a drink’s flavour and depth. Adding grilled pineapples, grapefruits and tangerines to cocktails not only introduces complexity into the drink but also elevates taste by bringing about slight alterations in the flavours of other mixers.
Here are five tips to help you make perfect grilled cocktails when you next home host a summer gathering:
Use Fresh Fruits
This one is a sheer no-brainer. When you source produce for making grilled cocktails ensure that it is fresh, ripe and conducive to a good grilling process. Use fleshy grapefruits, pineapples, tangerines, oranges and lemons for your cocktail needs because these fruits render themselves wonderfully to the grilling process. Additionally, fresh fruits have a good crunch of their own and caramelise really well when grilled so they become inviting options to add a smoky touch to your cocktails.
Layer Coals Lightly
When you are arranging your grill, create a light charcoal layer so that your barbecue has enough heat but it is not flaming hot. This will prevent fruits from burning and introduce a light char, which is what is required for crafting a cocktail full of grilled elements. And if you are making use of a gas grill, set the flame to low when you place fruit wedges or slices on the open flame. Flip the fruit pieces at regular intervals so that they acquire those vertical stripes which make up the ‘grilled’ feel.
Use Long Tongs
Make use of long tongs and very thick gloves when you are grilling fruits. These slices are smaller and less sturdier than meats or fish so it is a little tricky to handle them. And when the heat rises, it is even harder to flip the fruits by inching your hand closer to the flame. At such times, long tongs are your best friend because they reach the fruit pieces without you burning your palm. And soak in the comfort of a warm glove too so that you can flip and take the grilled fruit away from the flame without breaking the pieces.
Make Infused Syrups
You could use a muddler to crush fruits and add them directly to your drinks. But a more flavourful alternative is to use the grilled fruits to make infused syrups for introducing a subtle smokey layer into your final cocktail mix. So, instead of muddling or adding fruits directly to your cocktail concoction, you can add them to a simple syrup or lime juice for extracting their charred notes without overpowering the drink with an intense charcoal-y taste.
Use A Smoke Box
Another way to introduce a smoky flavour into your cocktails is to use a smoke box. Keeping your drink under a cloche, release smoke inside using this effective tool and let the space be filled up with these vapours. You can use a wood chip smoke box and add walnut or hickory wood to it so they release a very pleasing aroma under the cloche which in turn seeps into the drink giving it a very pleasing tone.
