"At Least There's Still Sauce"- my Superbowl Inspired Sipper
My family has a tradition of getting together Superbowl weekend to enjoy food, drink, and shenanigans, and as most things over the last year, we had a virtual hang. My libation creation was a KC Barbecue-inspired tiki cocktail. This sweet, smoky, spicy, and tangy concoction is shaken up with aged rum, apple cider, sweet vermouth, tamarind concentrate, barrel-aged maple syrup, angostura bitters, and house-made smoked cinnamon and rum extracted chile tinctures. The ALTSS is then finished with a little oak-smoke and topped with a crispy strip of vegan bacon.
Although KC might have lost the big dance, "at least there's still sauce!"
#tiki #rumcocktails #smokedcocktails
At Least There's Still Sauce
2.5 oz aged rum
0.5 oz sweet vermouth
2.5 oz apple cider
Bar spoon barrel-aged maple syrup
Bar spoon tamarind concentrate
4.5-5.5 ml smoked cinnamon tincture
4.5-5.5 ml rum extracted chile tincture
4 dashes Angostura Bitters
Crispy slice of bacon, for garnish (I used a seitan-based option)
Oak cubes (for smoking)
Instructions: add ingredients together and shake with ice. Strain into glass or a secondary vessel suitable for smoking. Gently smoke with a few oak cubes (in a well ventilated area), add the crisped bacon, and enjoy!
Tinctures - I keep both of these in stock, as they can be used in a variety of cocktail applications.
Smoked Cinnamon:
~1 stick/ 100 ml vodka at 40% ABV
Broken into a few pieces, gently dry-roast cinnamon in a pan on Medium heat for a few minutes, tossing occasionally for even color formation. The sticks should be at the cusp of being burnt. This will impart a slight smokiness to the tincture.
Once cooled, add into the vodka. Allow to extract for 5-7 days before removing the sticks.
Chile Rum:
1 ancho/ 250 ml light rum at 40-45% ABV
Steep for 7-10 days before removing the chile