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| Cucumbers Pine Needles and Thyme |
“Healthyish
cocktails appeal to everyone,” says Danny Kuehner, bar manager at Madison On
Park restaurant in San Diego. Stashed behind the bar are such wellness
ingredients as alkaline water, turmeric, matcha, beets, carrots, aloe vera,
nopales, seaweed, cannabidiol oil and activated charcoal. “People want to feel
good, not only about what they are eating, but what they are
drinking.” Cocktails as healthful? Sounds like a contradiction. But
consider history: Apothecaries originally compounded alcohol into healthful
tinctures, elixirs and tonics. And compared to drinks in the 1980s
that used artificially flavored mixers with way too much sweetener, today’s
fresh-ingredient cocktails are natural and refreshing. Plus, the current
proliferation of low-ABV creations offers more wholesome quaffs.
Bartenders often look to the kitchen for
inspiration, which is where the health-food angle fits. When writing menus,
chefs today focus on organic and sustainable ingredients, preferably locally
sourced. And of course, drink lists that call out the latest superfood or
unusual, arcane ingredients attract the attention of curious consumers
thirsting for the new and novel. “Bartenders love stealing ideas and
ingredients from kitchens, and if the kitchen trends or what people are asking
for gears itself towards health foods, then that’s how we’re going to lean into
it,” says Jenn Harvey, bar manager at Temple Bar in Cambridge, MA. Items
borrowed from health food for cocktails include carrot juice, chia seeds, cacao
nibs and turmeric.
Mixologists are ranging far and wide to
unearth therapeutic ingredients. “If you think about the historical aspect of
spirits as curatives, used in the apothecary style, I don’t think cocktails
borrowing inspiration from health foods is a trend, but rather a modernized
form of expressing creativity,” says Jenn Grossbard, bar manager and resident
forager for The Drawing Board in Petaluma, CA., where you can a virtual
pharmacy of holistic ingredients, including activated charcoal, bee pollen,
ginger/turmeric honey, rosehip and hawthorn tonic, alkaline water and
adaptogenic herbs such as eleuthero, fo-ti, astragalus and tulsi. The
aptly named Prescription cocktail features healthful bee pollen and
ginger/turmeric-infused honey, along with Dewar’s Scotch, lemon juice and
locally produced Amaro Bilaro and Fresno chilies.
Using healthful, plant-based ingredients in
cocktails can boost both flavors and sales, says Ryan Nolen, bar manager at
Pitchfork Pretty Restaurant & Bar in Austin, TX. “Health-centric food and
beverage consumption is mainstream: It has permeated pop culture. I believe it
is here to stay and has appeal to some degree across all
demographics.” The restaurant features Texas Hill Country cuisine
and the bar follows suit. Local carrots, butternut squash, tomatillos, avocado
seed, avocado leaf, avocado flower honey, poppy seeds and fermented peach pits
all appear in cocktails, which are priced from $10 to
$12. Examples include the A Drink Has No Name, featuring
theobromine-rich yaupon tea, smoked ginger honey, clove, mint, lemon, bourbon
and rum, with a Sasquash pictured atop.
Creating drinks with exotic components can be expensive, however.
“Sometimes, these super-healthy ingredients can cost a lot of money,” says
Harvey. And if the cocktails don’t sell, spoilage can be a problem.
At The Drawing Board, they will “personally forage for many of the
herbs or grow them in someone’s garden.” She also works with local purveyors
for specialized ingredients, such as bee pollen or organic dried
herbs. Pitchfork Pretty sources from local farms that practice
sustainable farming techniques and grow plants in ideal soil compositions, says
Nolen. “We try to do this as far as it is
cost-effective.” “Using veggies and herbs gives the cocktail a
fresh and herbaceous aspect that can’t be found in a bottle,” but “the
challenge is sourcing the freshest possible ingredients. Your cocktail is only
as strong as its weakest ingredient.”
This is only the tip of the iceberg, read
more at http://beveragedynamics.com/2018/05/02/how-to-make-healthier-cocktails/
