Some thoughts on savory cocktails

[xiphias]

You know, historically, punches and then cocktails were based on a balance of sweet and sour, with a bit of bitters. The idea was to create drinks that were sweet, but not cloying.

And today, again, we are in an era that loves our sweet cocktails. To which I say, "Yippee!", because I loves me a good girly drink. . . but that's not the only direction that cocktails can go. Throughout much of the 20th Century, cocktails went savory. And that's also an interesting way to go, and one which needs much thought, and in which much cool stuff can go.

Of course, we're all familiar with savory drinks like the Bloody Mary. But the king of the savory drinks, bar none, has GOT to be the martini. I mean, can anyone think of a savory drink that could even compete?

But what is the flavor that is predominant in savory cocktails? Sweet cocktails are based on a balance of sweet and sour, usually, often cut with some bitter. (And it doesn't have to be a lot -- simply squeezing the peel of a lemon over a drink releases enough bitter aromatic oils to change the character of a drink drastically.) Of course, they can add in some salt -- a margarita is usually about the interplay between sweet, sour, and salt, rather than sweet, sour, and bitter. But what's the interplay in a savory cocktail?

I'd argue that savory cocktails are about the interplay between salt and umami. The primary taste in a martini, of the five basic tastes (sweet, sour, salty, bitter, umami), is umami. White vermouth is basically umami; gin has a good smattering of it; green olives have a good chunk.

I think the reason people like "extra dry martinis" -- ones which limit, or even virtually eliminate, the vermouth -- is because they get overloaded with umami. It's an aggressive flavor, one which I quite like, but, like any flavor, "too much" is too much. It can start to strike one as "oily" or "greasy", even. I go heavy on the vermouth in my own martinis -- but that's because, remember, as sensitive as my NOSE is, I've got fewer taste-buds per inch than most of you, so, for me, I punch up those five basic tastes.

So what flavor goes with umami? I'd say that salt is the most complimentary flavor to umami, and I suspect people who drink "dirty martinis" would agree with me. Adding a bit of the brine the olives are stored in does add some olive flavor (again, mainly umami), but mainly adds salt.

So why not go directly for the salt? A pinch of salt actually does change the character of a martini quite a bit. I feel that it rounds out the edges, and I like it that way. Others may not, but it may be worth an experiment.

So, then we have sweet, sour, and bitter. Personally, I don't feel like playing with sweet and bitter with a martini -- I'm not saying it can't be done, just that I don't feel like doing it right now. But what about sour? Can anything be done with that?

I tried adding a drop of rice vinegar. And I quite liked the result.

So: here's an idea for a martini variation.

3 oz gin, say, Beefeater or Hendricks, for instance
1 oz white vermouth
1 dash of salt
1 dash of rice vinegar.
2 green olives stuffed with pimentos

Shake, or stir, as you see fit. Shaking will break up more ice, and slightly dilute the mix. That's not a bad thing. Stirring will leave less water in. That's also not a bad thing. You CAN taste the difference, but I'm going to commit a heresy here, and say that BOTH ways are good, even if they're different. Strain into a cocktail glass. Or whatever glass you have around.

I'd be interested to hear what other people think of the salt and/or rice vinegar ideas. I find them quite palatable myself, but I don't know if that would be universally true.

Comments

[kightp.livejournal.com]

Oh, my. that sounds *great*.

But then, I'm a big fan of umami, sour and bitter, and have virtually no sweet tooth.

And .... hm ... I have all the ingredients at home, too.

Sounds like Friday night cocktail hour tonight. I'll let you know what I think. (-:

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

I started thinking about the vinegar after realizing that some people like pickled onions in their martinis. The "onion" part doesn't really come out into the rest of the drink -- but the "pickled" part might. And I've heard of people using tiny little cornichons (pickles) as martini garnishes, as well.

Those would both add spices and salt -- but mainly vinegar.

[jehanna.livejournal.com]

I wonder if your ideas bear any relation to those "saketinis" I've seen around, that make use of sake (as the name suggests).

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

Sake is also umami-based, although usually not as intensely umami as dry vermouth.

Usually. There ARE some sakes which are blow-the-top-off-your-head umami. The Funaguchi Kikusui honjozu sake (the one that comes in a can) is wonderful, and is pretty deep into umami. It's also good enough that, if I did a cocktail with it, I'd make it the centerpiece -- I don't THINK I'd pair it with a gin, because I think that'd just get too confusing. But I would happily use a more basic sake in a cocktail like that.

[jehanna.livejournal.com]

You've made me curious enough to go review what goes into a saketini, so having done so, I can say that their resemblance to a martini is minimal, and that they're actually more like a girly drink, because they've got fruit juice.

I was actually wondering about the sake as an instead-of-rice-vinegar component, since it's a related but less pungent item.

[sinboy.livejournal.com]

What about a drop of port instead of vermouth, and sour instead of salty, like a lemon twist?

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

Well, I find that, because you're really going for the oils in the peel, a lemon twist actually adds in just a bit of bitter, instead of sour -- which, again, is something that some people like in their martinis, but it doesn't do that much for me.

I don't know how port and gin would go. I suspect it'd depend on the port and the gin, but it seems like it'd be a bit of work to find a pair that worked well together. The other thing that would do would be to add a bit of color to the drink. Part of the appeal of the modern martini, to me, is its pure transparency, which is among the reasons I went with the rice vinegar instead of balsamic or cider.

[sinboy.livejournal.com]

I'd think a nice complex gin like Millers would work. Of course I can drink Millers straight.

[sinboy.livejournal.com]

Thinking about this, there's lot of Umame in seaweed. Tsukudani specifically.

[nex0s.livejournal.com]

After learning that vermouth should be kept in the 'fridge, and drunk before it's 6 month's old, I've learned to LOVE "wet" martinis. No dry martinis for me! In fact, S and I love to drink bianco vermouth straight. Delish!

*babble*
N.

I like bianco vermouth too!

[dakiwiboid.livejournal.com]

I'm actually not particularly fond of gin and vodka bores me. When I realized that the only things I liked about martinis were the vermouth and the olives, I just stopped drinking them altogether.

[voltbang.livejournal.com]

Only related by the fact that it's alchohol, but I had fun tonight introducing some guests to black sambuca served at freezer temperature. Yum. I hate black licorice in any other context, but in black sambuca, it's just right.

[brooksmoses]

As a tangent on the savory-cocktail thought line, the pub I was at for dinner a couple of nights ago had a signature gin-based drink that involved a large leaf of basil. One of my dining companions tried it, and said that it was good but unfortunately a bit sweet and didn't taste too much of basil; nonetheless, I thought you might think it an interesting idea....