3 Smoked Old Fashioneds, 3 Ways

Smoked cocktails used to be everywhere and that's also probably why they kind of disappeared. They got so mainstream, all cool bartenders started snubbing them because they didn't want to be accused of being cliche. But there's a good reason why they got so popular in the first place. First, we all love a little bit of drama in our drinks and second, when made the right way, smoked cocktails are just delicious. So I think it is time we stop taking ourselves so seriously and bring a little bit of fun back behind the bar, smoking some cocktails. Today we're gonna make three different old-fashioned recipes, all three smoked with a different technique and I guarantee you want to stick till the end because the last one is probably what will become the next big thing in our industry. So before we start, hit that subscribe button if you haven't already and let's smoke some cocktails. Let's go! First up, the smoke tub. This is pretty much the OG device to easily smoking cocktails at home. Before them, smoking cocktails was either expensive or complicated. You would need a full-on smoking gun setup that could cost up to $200 or if you wanted to take the DIY route, you would grab an untreated piece of wood, light it up with a blowtorch, flip a glass upside down over the flame and when the fire died out, you would get a little bit of smoke infusing the inside of your glass. It was definitely not the most efficient way to smoke a cocktail but it was pretty fun to watch. But when the smoke tub came in, it was literally a game changer. Now, suddenly for between $20 to $50, you could smoke all your cocktails super easily at home. For me, this is the most powerful way to impart smoke flavor and aroma to a cocktail so I think it works best when you work with a drink that's not smoky already. Use that to transform it into a smoky drink. And also, there's a couple of things to know if you want to make like the best out of So, let's dive right in and let's make a classic old-fashioned and let's smoke it with a smoke top. So, let's start with two ounces or 60 mils of rye whiskey, a quarter of an ounce of demerara syrup, two dashes of angostura bitters and one dash of orange bitters from my friend Steve, the bartender. I really like his bitters, chocolate, orange and coffee. So, if you are interested, I'm gonna link them in the description below. Now, we add ice and stir 20 to 30 seconds. Now, it's time to smoke the cocktail and like I said, there's a couple of things to know in order to get the most out of this. I think the most important thing is to smoke the glass before pouring the cocktail in and this works even better if you have a cocktail served on the rocks like an old-fashioned because the inside of your glass and the surface of the ice will just create more surface contact for the smoke flavor and aroma to stick to. So, you're gonna add the smoke top on top of your ice filled glass and you're gonna add just a little bit of wood chips. If you add too much, you're just gonna get too much flavor and it's gonna overpower your cocktail. So, just a little bit goes a long way and that's all you need. Then, I recommend you start to blow torch away from your drink so you make sure you don't get any butane in your drink. So, you light it up and smoke your glass. You don't let it infuse for too long because once again, if you do so, it's gonna overpower everything. So, you take the smoke top out and pour your cocktail over the smoke and there you have it. This is how you make a smoked old-fashioned with a smoked top. Cheers! The smoke aroma is very well present as well as the smoke flavor but it's not overpowering. It's just a beautiful layer of smokiness in your cocktail that complements the drink rather than overpowering everything. So, this is how you make the classic OG smoked old-fashioned with a smoked top. Now, let's move on to the second one. Next up, the Aromagon. These started popping up around 2020, if I'm not mistaken, and I must say they're really fun. They bring a ton of theatrical flair to your cocktail service. They're more about the show than the flavor itself. I feel they're designed to fill up the air around your cocktail with a lot of beautiful aroma rather than infusing the drink itself. Still, it adds a really nice touch especially for cocktails that already have a smoky component. With that type of drinks, I like to use the Aromagon to fill the air with more smoky aroma just to enhance the experience. It really sets the stage before your first sip, kind of like a preview that something smoky is coming. There's also different ways to use the Aromagon. You can drop a bit of smoke directly inside your glass using a lid and that way when you take your first sip, the smoke escapes giving you that beautiful aromatic moment. You can also use a cloche to build up a strong cloud of smoke around your drink which really helps to set the mood before tasting. But my favorite way to use it is with the bubble attachment and the Flavor Blaster I'm using today as the multiple bubble attachment which honestly is just the coolest thing. So let's make one of my favorite fall cocktails, an old-fashioned that already has a beautiful smoky flavor and let's give it an extra layer of smokiness with the Aromagon. We're gonna start with an ounce and a half or 45 mils of Calvados, half an ounce or 15 mils of Talisker 10, quarter of an ounce of Demerara syrup, couple of healthy dashes of Black Walnut Bitters and also a couple of dashes of Angostura. Fill the mixing glass with ice and give it a good stir. Strain over a beautiful block of clear ice and when using the Aromagon like this it's always recommended for the bubbles to stick well to the glass that the edge is a little bit wet. So you can use an atomizer and just give one or two spray of water over the drink and make your bubbles. So there you have it, a smoky apple old-fashioned. So like I said the flavor of this one is already beautifully smoky but the nose and smokiness is definitely enhanced by the burst of smoke aroma released when you take your first sip. It's really cool and it sets you in the mood of a smoky drink for the whole drinking experience. So now let's move on to the third old-fashioned and technique of the day. Cocktail perfumes is what I believe is going to be the next big thing in our industry. At this point we've explored pretty much everything there is to explore in terms of flavor and technique and it feels like there's not much left to invent but this it really feels new. Over the past few months I've seen popping more and more cocktail perfumes around to bring back novelty and creativity into mixology and if you've been following my channel for a little while you know I've been an advocate of aroma sprays like the citrus aroma I developed in order to stop wasting citrus zest for cocktail garnishes but cocktail perfumes really take this idea to another level. They are complex aromatic blends created and designed to elevate and complement your drinks a little bit like bitters do for flavor but in an aromatic form. I don't know a lot of perfume brands so far that are doing it right but today I'm going to introduce you to Tavma because they have an incredible smoky perfume in their lineup. I love it, it is super intense and all you need is just one little spray to change completely the experience. Now in contrary to the smoked up where I recommend to use it to transform a cocktail that's not smoky into a smoky one or the aroma gun that's there I believe to enhance the smoky experience for a drink that's already smoky I think that the cocktail perfumes are good for all types of cocktails whether they are smoky or not as long as you want to enhance and emphasize the smokiness of your cocktail this will work really nicely so you can take a cocktail that's not smoky with flavors that pair well with smokiness and elevate that with the cocktail perfume or take a cocktail that's already smoky and you just want to boost that smokiness with the cocktail perfume so really it is super versatile and I really love it. I'm going to try to prove it to you with a riff on a Oaxaca old-fashioned a spicy Oaxaca old-fashioned so let's make it. I'm gonna start with an ounce and a half or 45 mils of reposado tequila, half an ounce of mezcal, half an ounce again or 15 mils of ancho reyes, one little bar spoon of demerara syrup, two dashes of angostura and one generous dash of chocolate bitters once again from Steve's lineup. Now we add ice like always stir until properly chilled and diluted. Now strain this one once again over a beautiful block of clear ice. So now we're going to add our smoky perfume and like I said it is pretty intense so I recommend you don't use more than one spritz otherwise it's going to take over everything and I also recommend you place yourself about one foot away from your cocktail so you aim well and you just go like this one spray and for this one the final touch a little disc of white chocolate for the garnish. So there you have it the spicy smoked Oaxaca old-fashioned. Cheers! So the reason why I believe smoky cocktail perfumes especially this one are good for both smoky drinks and not smoky drinks is because when you use them on a smoky cocktail you're just gonna enhance that smokiness it's not gonna be overpowering and if you use them on a non-smoky drink it's just gonna give you a beautiful aroma to have the whole drinking experience and contrary to the aroma gun which is there pretty much just for the first sip the cocktail perfumes are intense enough they're gonna stick to the surface of the glass to the surface of the cocktail and it's gonna be there throughout the whole time you're gonna drink your cocktail so every time you're gonna sip on it you're gonna have that reminder that you're having something smoky so I think it is really cool super versatile and I think you're gonna see them more and more cocktail perfumes in general and if you are interested in the Tavmo lineup I'm gonna link their website in the description below and they're also offering you a 10% discount if you use my promo code everything is gonna be in the description below so my friends this is it for me today thank you very much for watching I hope you enjoyed this video leave a thumbs up if you did don't forget to subscribe before you go to turn the bell if you want to make sure not to miss the next one and until then thank you very much again and see you very soon cheers