Salted/Salty Cocktails

[Chris Amirault]

I had a few fingers of añejo tequila left from a 1.5l bottle, along with a few limes and oranges. 2 oz of the tequila, 1 oz of the lime and orange each, and I tossed in a healthy dollop of gingered simple syrup -- and then added a pinch of fleur de sel. Shaken, it was a swell drink.

Of course, salt and tequila go together like Beavis and Butthead, so that's not much of a stretch, but it got me thinking about salted drinks. I'm not talking about a few flakes in your bloody mary, either; I'm talking about salt as an added dimension to other, less expected cocktails.

Ideas? Recipes?

[phlox]

The bartender at the restaurant where I work recently let me try a drink he's working on whose rim is dipped in orange salt (salt with orange zest). I believe it's Bluecoat gin, OJ, and something else I can't rememer. He had me try it sans salt first and it was kind of meh, but with the salt it was fantastic! The orange salt is really aromatic and yummy. I will ask him for more details on his new concoction tomorrow.

[thirtyoneknots]

The only one I know of offhand (and I have yet to try it) is this one from the Cocktail Chronicles. Sounds interesting, anyway.

-Andy

[KatieLoeb]

Pomeranian - cross between a Salty Dog and a gimlet

2 oz. Pearl Persephone Pomegranate Vodka

.5 oz. Ruby Red Grapefruit

.25 oz. fresh lime juice

.25 oz. simple syrup

.25 oz. Rose's Lime juice

Shake over ice and strain into a salt rimmed cocktail glass. Garnish with a lime wedge. Also tasty on the rocks in a salt rimmed glass.

[slkinsey]

Pomeranian - cross between a Salty Dog and a gimlet

D'oh! I think JAZ beat you to the name. Although I'm sure plenty of people are discovering that name, with the popularity of pomegranate juices, infusions and liqueurs.

[JAZ]

I remember reading several recipes for limeade-type drinks from various Southeast Asian countries that include salt in the drink itself, so that might be a place to start.

I think that, of the citrus juices, salt works best with lime and grapefruit, then lemon, with orange last. Maybe that's because salt works to soften bitterness, so it would make sense that the more bitter fruits would take to a pinch of salt.

[Dave the Cook]

I think Janet's right about salt and bitter, but I'm not sure that's what's going on in Chris's drink (though I'm sure he'll be quick to correct me if I'm wrong). It seems to me that a few flakes of fleur de sel in a cocktail are doing what salt is usually supposed to do: heighten flavors.

If that's the case, maybe we have two classes of salted cocktails: those that are frankly salty (I think salted rims go here, as well as drinks like the Dirty Martini), and those where salt plays an important role, but doesn't put salt directly in flavor profile -- much like the salt that's added to chocolate to make it taste more, um, like chocolate.

[slkinsey]

It seems to me that a few flakes of fleur de sel in a cocktail are doing what salt is usually supposed to do: heighten flavors.

Yea, I imagine that's true. I wonder what would happen if we experimented with an eyedropper of salt water for cocktails.

It's worth pointing out, while on the subject, that it's a bit of a waste to use fancy expensive sea salt in a cocktail. Once it's dissolved into the liquid, fleur de sel won't taste any different than any other kind of salt. Probably best, if one is going to use salt crystals rather than salt water, would be the finest grained salt you can find.

[fatdeko]

I'm with Dave on this salt thing. It's seemed to me that bartenders (and others) who have blurred the line between the kitchen and the bar have missed out on the simplest thing--salt. It's culinary 101. While we sometimes use sugar/sweeteners to carry flavors, we do little to heighten or amplify them. This is where salt comes in. Lacking the necessary circle of weirdos to really explore how salt can improve cocktails, (I'm in Maine, don't forget) my experiments sort of fizzled out. I seem to recall that I could get close to a 7:1 salt solution before (simple) solubility became a problem. (I don't remember why I thought that finding that threshold was important) And testing salted vs unsalted cocktails by myself became, um, problematic both from trying to maintain a Double Blind protocol and just plain getting too blind.

So I pretty much have taken it on faith that a judicious use of salt is good and probably isn't bad. My solution is to add a pinch of salt every time I make simple syrup.

myers

[Chris Amirault]

And testing salted vs unsalted cocktails by myself became, um, problematic both from trying to maintain a Double Blind protocol and just plain getting too blind.

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Ah, the sacrifices of science. Well put.

[hic]

[slkinsey]

My solution is to add a pinch of salt every time I make simple syrup.

Interesting idea. I'm getting ready to do some simple syrup versus gomme syrup testing. Maybe I should throw salted simple into the mix as well.

[Dan Ryan]

I often make herb and citrus syrups for cocktails, and salt is essential.

And once you've salted a grapefruit, it has all five of the recognised tastes. Great mouthfeel.

[Kent Wang]

Don't you find grapefruit plenty salty already? Really, that's what I love about grapefruit's flavor profile.

You can also use flavored salts, like the ones Spiceburst makes. The chile lime is good for rimming a margarita.

[alacarte]

Great thread - I immediately thought of the current salted-caramel craze. How would this work with a richer, sweeter drink, like something based on Bailey's Irish Cream or other liqueurs?

[moosnsqrl]

I often make herb and citrus syrups for cocktails, and salt is essential.

And once you've salted a grapefruit, it has all five of the recognised tastes. Great mouthfeel.

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Once again eG steps in to make me feel less weird and alienated. I've always salted grapefruit but most people in the midwest put sugar on it (and not modest amounts, either, blech!). I've been told I am everything ranging from strange to criminal for salting it - although the same people who say that are happy to eat a salad with supremed sections of grapefruit and a salty vinaigrette. I feel exonerated.

Sorry to hijack a cocktail thread for a self-help moment To bring it back on-topic, though, I absolutely think salt can play a starring role as well as a supporting one and most drinks will be the better for it, for the same reasons that apply to foods. And that makes me wonder if the same could be said of msg (which I have begun adding to food in small amounts to build up a tolerance and try to get over my adult-onset reactions to). Has anyone played around with that as a cocktail additive? Umami on the rocks?

[Chris Amirault]

So is anyone actually trying this out? Recipes?

[Dave the Cook]

I tried a salted Aviation:

2 oz. gin

1/2 oz. lemon juice

1/2 oz. maraschino

pinch (maybe 15 grains) Diamond Crystal kosher salt

It seemed slightly sweeter than usual, and a bit less complex. Of course, that could have been due to any number of variables, but I'm a pretty careful measurer, for what that's worth, and I did this as the first cocktail of the day.

[JAZ]

Interesting. Earlier tonight, I tried a Daiquiri with a pinch of salt added. I found it oddly muted -- even after an additional squeeze of lime, it seemed flat and lifeless. It's the exact opposite of what I would have predicted.

Maybe salt is best left to grapefruit drinks. I'm planning to test that theory, tomorrow probably.

[KatieLoeb]

Pomeranian - cross between a Salty Dog and a gimlet

D'oh! I think JAZ beat you to the name. Although I'm sure plenty of people are discovering that name, with the popularity of pomegranate juices, infusions and liqueurs.

←

Ha! I knew it sounded familiar. Going back and rereading that old thread it's clear my mind still works in the same manner it always did.

I'm renaming my drink a Salty Pomeranian so JAZ can reserve the rights to her version.

[thirtyoneknots]

A Pap Dobles daiquiri might be interesting with a salt rim, with the grapefruit and all.

-Andy

[bostonapothecary]

has anyone had the amonium chloride candy that is popular in sweden.....called salmiaki....

they powder it and infuse vodka wiht it....sorta like rock and rye but salty sweet....

i heard the drink was inspired by that episode of the simpsons with the flaming moe....

[Chris Amirault]

The only one I know of offhand (and I have yet to try it) is this one from the Cocktail Chronicles. Sounds interesting, anyway.

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It was. I made a Paez to the letter:

• 2.5 oz Plymouth gin
  
• .5 oz NP dry vermouth
  
• 6 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
  
• pinch sea salt
  

Stir, lemon twist.

It's a bit like a dirty martini, not surprisingly; next time I'd go with even more Peychaud's, as it came out somewhat muted. The drink's not going into heavy rotation here, though, as the salty ending, like a brine-supplemented martini, is less appealing to me than a classic with orange bitters and no saline close.

So, strike one on the salt, says I.

[JAZ]

I've tried a couple of tequila drinks with a pinch of salt, and what I found was that the Margarita with a blanco was much brighter with a pinch of salt. With a splash of grapefruit juice added to the usual mix, it was also nice. But a version with reposado and a splash of blood orange juice didn't fare as well. The salt didn't harm it in the least, but it didn't add anything either. In fact, I added more lime juice to it because it tasted a little flat.

This salt thing is very interesting.

[Alchemist]

I make a Hendricks Martini with paper thin slices of cuke soaked in salt, A little olive brine, dry vermouth and a couple of drops of rose water. It really just brought out the cucumber instead of turning it into a dirty martini. Some people will call hours before they show up to request I get some cucumber macerating.

[dietsch]

The only one I know of offhand (and I have yet to try it) is this one from the Cocktail Chronicles. Sounds interesting, anyway.

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It was. I made a Paez to the letter:

• 2.5 oz Plymouth gin
  
• .5 oz NP dry vermouth
  
• 6 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
  
• pinch sea salt
  

Stir, lemon twist.

It's a bit like a dirty martini, not surprisingly; next time I'd go with even more Peychaud's, as it came out somewhat muted. The drink's not going into heavy rotation here, though, as the salty ending, like a brine-supplemented martini, is less appealing to me than a classic with orange bitters and no saline close.

So, strike one on the salt, says I.

←

My wife and I, on the other hand, have had the Paez a couple of times, and although it hasn't earned a place on our regular rotation, we both liked it. It's a nice change of pace.