Aroma

I had the opportunity to schmooze with Audrey Saunders a few months ago, but because I lack the pelotas, I chickened out. Instead, I just kind of stared her down from across the room, much like you might expect from a crazy blogger type, which I am not.

I mention Audrey because she's one of my big inspirations for much of what I'm doing with aroma these days. They say that smelling is around 80% of tasting, and as bar movements take us in a more culinary direction, the nose will help us determine balance in drinks if we learn to use the products we probably already have in our kitchens and bars with their respective aromas in mind. And while it's tempting to make your cocktail's aromatic components the same as their flavor components, (lemon bitters and lemon juice.. for example,) I like trying aromas that directly compliment the drink's components. Here's a great author for flavor pairing guidance, and here are some interesting fall pairings to experement with:

Gin and Star Anise
Bourbon and Peach
Pear and Freshly cracked Black Pepper
Rosemary and Blood Orange
Green Apple and Clove
Molasses and Roasted Pumpkin
Rose and Pomegranate
Highland Scotch and Meyer Lemon

I want to make one snarky note about the use of aromatics before giving some examples. In any craft, there often comes a point when a project's form completely defies its function. This happens in drink-making when we get carried away with a crazy flaming garnish or method of consumption. (I don't want to drink a cocktail that seems like it was designed by Yoko Ono. I'm not climbing a ladder or drinking through an eleven foot burdock root, for example.) It's important to consider this with aromatics; make it simple and ergonomic and contextual for drinking and it will work. I'm reminded of having a "Chanel no. 5" champagne cocktail invented by the very talented, but lost me on this one, Tony Conigliaro. Although the drink is extremely interesting and the level of craft involved in its creation is impressive to say the least, do I want to drink Chanel no. 5? I don't even like smelling it, let alone smelling it and drinking it. Ew.

The drinks pictured here are photographed with garnishes that are specifically designed to surprise the nose when approaching the drink. We refer to this moment of approach frequently when designing new cocktails because it's key in the first impression of their flavors. My Herbal Idaho (left) is garnished with freshly cut basil leaves wrapped in orange peel. Roll up the basil, slice it diagonally, and arrange it so that the cut portions of the leaves are facing up. Wrap and skewer as pictured.

The Cruiser (above) is a simple meyer lemon fizz topped with Peychaud's bitters and a fresh rosemary ring. This is another simple and effective use of fresh herbs and bitters for aroma. You can even break a few of the rosemary needles to release more fragrance.

Another drink on our menu is the Pepperbox Cocktail (right) which is an applejack-based cocktail with a thin slice of apple floating on top of the egg foam. Freshly cracked black pepper corns lay on top of the apple slice. The garnish is the only spicey flavor, though people often ask if there's actually pepper in the drink because the smell of freshly cracked pepper is so intense when you're that close to it.

If you're serving drinks at a party or bar, try something as simple as putting the drink in front of your friend/patron/potential paramour, and zesting a lemon or orange on top of the glass right in front of them. Of course, avoid zesting in their eyes since it will not improve the drink or your reputation at all... you will be surprised by how many people will act as though they've never had a Cosmopolitan before when they take their first sip and smell all of that fresh lemon oil. Another trick I've heard of, though I've never tried, is to scent your swizzle sticks with essential oils or by steeping them in hydrosols. There are many ways to make drinks more interesting. While we work in a culture that is obsessed with molecular this-and-that, flavored vodka, and energy drinks, we've forgotten one thing every person has... a nose! My philosophy is to use what I have first, then try and change the craft to incorporate the use of agar agar or get speedy from taurine while slowing on GABA inhibitors.