On my previous article I explained you the importance of scent in cocktail recipes since the drink's aroma is a crucial factor if you want to create an unusual & impressive recipe.

As I promised you, today I will give you some tips in order to create tinctures which can be used in cocktails to aromatize them.

1) What about the alcohol? 

You should use liquors with at least 40% abv. Keep in mind that the higher is the alcohol proof the less time your infusion needs. 

2) For how long should I infuse it? 

If you use a liquor of 40% abv you should propably need about 8 days. But the best thing you can do is to try the infusion daily in order to check its aroma having in mind that botanicals & herbs are infused faster than spices & fruits. 

3) Does the storage effect the final result? 

Of course it does! As we all know most spirits must be served in room temperature which is

13 - 18°C, so the infusion jar must be put in a cool dark place (your fridge will also work). I remember my grandmother making a wild cherry liqueur and leaving it in a plastic jar for the whole Greek summer when the temperature is more than 35°C. Thankfully I've never tried it. 

4) About the plastic jars I mentioned. 

Always use jars made by glass for infusions and never put alcohol in plastic jars or bottles as it is dangerous for your health.

5) About citrus infusions. 

When you want to infuse citruses you should only use  the peels without taking the white pith of the fruit since it will give you a bitter result which will affect your infusion. 

6) Use dry herbs instead of fresh. 

Dry herbs are way more aromatic than fresh and they can be infused faster. 

7) About fruits infusion. 

You should chop the fruit wheels. This way your infusion will be finished faster. 

8) About spice infusion. 

For faster infusions you can use ground spices instead of whole spices. 

9) Zero waste. 

If you are wondering if an infusion combination will have a good aromatic result you can make separated tinctures with every ingredient you want to use and then mix them together. This way you are creating more tinctures. 

Having these advices in mind I chose to create a Manhatan's twist some weeks ago the "Cognac".

Cognac:

Ingredients:

• 45ml Meukow VSOP Cognac 
• 15ml Pineau Des Charentes 
• 2 Dashes Orange Bitters
• Gentleman’s Tincture (Tincture from orange & cinnamon) 

Preparation:

Chill & clean your mixing glass with Thrill's machine. Add all the ingredients in the mixing glass with ice cubes & stir. Strain the mixture into a coupe glass, express the tincture, garnish with an orange twist and enjoy responsibly!

Article by Jr Bartender

Mixologist - Alcohol Reviewer - Bar Critic - Cocktail Recipes - Alcohol Ambassador 

Seguilo su Instagram! > @jr.bartender