If you love a good campfire, a classic Islay scotch, smoked baby back ribs, or mezcal, then there's a good chance you'll love a smoky cocktail. That's great news for you because smoky cocktails are totally in right now. But maybe you could tell that by the smoke-filled cocktail bar you find yourself in, actively searching for just what a smoked cocktail is. Why don't we not sit here talking about it and get down to making them? Browse a few smoked cocktail recipes or skip to the end to find out all the different ways to get the fire started yourself.
Smoked Old-Fashioned Cocktail
No cocktail is as timeless as the old-fashioned. And those sweet notes with that bite of bourbon absolutely shine with a bit of smoke.
Ingredients
- Wood chips
- Smoking gun or appropriate smoking appliance
- 2 ounces bourbon
- ¾ ounce simple syrup
- 3-4 dashes orange bitters
- 2-3 dashes aromatic bitters
- Ice
- Dehydrated orange wheel for garnish
Instructions
- Prepare the smoking gun or appliance according to product instructions.
- In a mixing glass, add ice, bourbon, simple syrup, and bitters.
- Stir rapidly to chill.
- Strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice.
- Smoke the old-fashioned for approximately 10-15 seconds.
- Turn off the smoking device and allow the smoke and drink to mingle for approximately one to three minutes.
- Garnish with a rosemary sprig and cocktail cherry.
Smoked Manhattan
There are a few inevitable facts in life: you'll panic that you somehow did your taxes wrong resulting in your inevitable 10-year sentence, you'll never forget your favorite lunch box that you lost in 5th grade, and nothing clears your mind like a smokey, complex Manhattan to make you realize that the first two things aren't really problems after all.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Prepare the smoking gun or appliance according to product instructions.
- In a mixing glass, add ice, whiskey, sweet vermouth, and bitters.
- Stir rapidly to chill.
- Strain into a coupe glass.
- Smoke the Manhattan for approximately 15-25 seconds.
- Turn off the smoking device and allow smoke and drink to mingle for approximately one to three minutes.
Smoked Cherry Old-Fashioned
Don't just stop at a classic smoked old-fashioned. Although this recipe calls for a cherry-infused whiskey, you can use just about any style of infused whiskey, such as bacon, fig, pear, or apple.
Ingredients
- Wood chips
- Smoking gun or appropriate smoking appliance
- 2 ounces cherry-infused bourbon
- ½ ounce simple syrup
- 2-3 dashes orange bitters
- 1-2 dashes aromatic bitters
- Ice
- Cherry for garnish
Instructions
- Prepare the smoking gun or appliance according to product instructions.
- In a mixing glass, add ice, cherry bourbon, simple syrup, and bitters.
- Stir rapidly to chill.
- Strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice.
- Smoke the old-fashioned for approximately 10-15 seconds.
- Turn off the smoking device and allow smoke and drink to mingle for approximately one to three minutes.
- Garnish with a cherry.
Smoked Bloody Mary
Don't balk at the idea of taking a little longer to get your bloody Mary from table to hand. A smoked bloody Mary takes this run-of-the-mill brunch cocktail to an entirely new level, and you'll be reluctant to go back to the way things were. Not a cucumber fan? Basil-infused vodka, or even plain vodka, taste beautiful in this recipe.
Ingredients
- Wood chips
- Smoking gun or appropriate smoking appliance
- 2 ounces cucumber-infused vodka
- 6 ounces bloody Mary mix
- Ice
- Celery stick and lime wheel for garnish
Instructions
- Prepare the smoking gun or appliance according to product instructions.
- In a cocktail shaker, add cucumber vodka and bloody Mary mix.
- Shake to chill.
- Strain into a highball glass over fresh ice.
- Smoke the bloody Mary for approximately 10-15 seconds.
- Turn off the smoking device and allow the smoke and drink to mingle for approximately one to three minutes.
- Garnish with a celery stick and lime wheel.
Smoked Whiskey Garden
Jump nose first into the garden, fresh with rosemary, flowers, whiskey, and smoke. We never said it was a garden you could find in real life, but this cocktail will leave you daydreaming.
Ingredients
- Wood chips
- Smoking gun or appropriate smoking appliance
- 2 ounces bourbon
- ¾ ounce rosemary simple syrup
- ¾ ounce honey liqueur
- Ice and king cube
- Rosemary sprig for garnish
Instructions
- Prepare the smoking gun or appliance according to product instructions.
- In a mixing glass, add ice, bourbon, rosemary simple syrup, and honey liqueur.
- Stir rapidly to chill.
- Strain into a rocks glass over a king cube.
- Smoke the cocktail for approximately 10-15 seconds.
- Turn off the smoking device and allow smoke and drink to mingle for approximately one to three minutes.
- Garnish with a rosemary sprig.
Smoked Espresso Martini
The best smoked cocktails already have a rich depth before you even introduce smoky flavors. Think of smoke as similar to salt in food. It'll add complexity to existing flavors. By smoking just the glass and not the drink itself, the minimally smoked surface area doesn't take over the drink's flavor. You can always smoke the drink if you want to increase those flavors.
Ingredients
- Wood chips
- Smoking gun or appropriate smoking appliance
- 1 ounce whiskey
- ¾ ounce espresso
- ½ ounce coffee liqueur
- ½ ounce brown crème de cacao
- Ice
- Three whole coffee beans for garnish, optional
Instructions
- Prepare the smoking gun or appliance according to product instructions.
- Smoke the coupe glass for approximately 10-15 seconds.
- Turn off the smoking device and allow smoke and glass to mingle for approximately one to three minutes.
- In a cocktail shaker, add ice, whiskey, espresso, coffee liqueur, and brown crème de cacao.
- Shake to chill.
- Strain into the prepared glass.
- Garnish with coffee beans, if desired.
Smoked and Spiced
Spiced rum and smoke creates a cocktail that'll taste strangely like a summer fire at the beach, not to be too specific. It pairs well with a real summer fire at the beach, pictures of your last fire at the beach, or your Pinterest summer vision board.
Ingredients
- Wood chips
- Smoking gun or appropriate smoking appliance
- 2 ounces spiced rum
- ¾ ounce cinnamon simple syrup
- ¼ ounce butterscotch liqueur
- 2-3 dashes almond bitters
- 1-2 dashes aromatic bitters
- Ice
- Orange peel for garnish, optional
Instructions
- Prepare the smoking gun or appliance according to product instructions.
- In a mixing glass, add ice, spiced rum, cinnamon simple syrup, butterscotch liqueur, and bitters.
- Stir rapidly to chill.
- Strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice.
- Smoke the cocktail for approximately 10-15 seconds.
- Turn off the smoking device and allow smoke and drink to mingle for approximately one to three minutes.
- Garnish with an orange peel, if desired.
A Little S'More Old-Fashioned
Sure, the drink name might be a little cheesy, but you know your friends will fall for it hook, line, and sinker the first time you blaze this into their glass. Just be prepared to make this for a long, long time. It's an instant hit.
You can skip the marshmallow vodka if you're able to procure a bottle of s'mores whiskey. Another substitution is s'mores vodka instead of marshmallow. Still no luck? Use two ounces of bourbon, an ounce of white crème de cacao, and toasted marshmallow syrup.
Ingredients
- Wood chips
- Smoking gun or appropriate smoking appliance
- 1 ounce whiskey
- 1 ounce marshmallow vodka
- ¾ ounce white crème de cacao
- 1-3 dashes aromatic bitters
- Ice
- Toasted marshmallows pierced on a cocktail skewer
Instructions
- Prepare the smoking gun or appliance according to product instructions.
- In a mixing glass, add ice, whiskey, marshmallow vodka, white crème de cacao, and bitters.
- Stir rapidly to chill.
- Strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice.
- Smoke the cocktail for approximately 10-15 seconds.
- Turn off the smoking device and allow smoke and drink to mingle for approximately one to three minutes.
- Carefully toast marshmallows and pierce with a cocktail skewer for garnish.
A Night Out
Don't be afraid to put the legwork required into making the wine reduction for this cocktail. The reduction will keep for quite some time in an airtight container in the refrigerator. With that said, let's get cooking.
Ingredients
- Wood chips
- Smoking gun or appropriate smoking appliance
- 2 ounces whiskey
- ¾ ounce hazelnut liqueur
- ¾ ounce cabernet sauvignon reduction (see below)
- Ice
- Lemon ribbon for garnish, optional
Instructions
- Prepare the smoking gun or appliance according to product instructions.
- In a mixing glass, add ice, whiskey, hazelnut liqueur, and cabernet sauvignon reduction.
- Stir rapidly to chill.
- Strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice.
- Smoke the cocktail for approximately 10-15 seconds.
- Turn off the smoking device and allow the smoke and drink to mingle for approximately one to three minutes.
- Garnish with a lemon ribbon.
Cabernet Sauvignon Reduction
This reduction is ready to go in no time. And you can even use it to drizzle on dessert.
Ingredients
- 2 cups cabernet sauvignon
- ¾ cup white sugar
Instructions
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, add wine and sugar.
- Stir to mix.
- Bring to a boil and allow it to cook until the mix is syrupy and reduced to roughly a half cup. This takes 10-15 minutes.
- After allowing the mix to cool, store it in a tightly sealed container and refrigerate.
How to Make the Best Smoked Cocktails
Set your life ablaze, safely and correctly, with smoked cocktails. There are a few ways to achieve those smoldering smoky flavors, each with its own strengths, but the best technique is your favorite one. Don't listen to the peanut gallery.
- A smoking gun is the most popular and beginner-friendly smoking apparatus. You can often purchase several accessories, such as a disc that'll allow you to concentrate the smoke into a drink or empty glass, as well as a dome or cloche that'll smoke several drinks at once or allow you to add more smoke to the equation.
- Smoke tops are trendy! Place the top over the drink or empty glass and smoke the wood chips directly into the top rather than using a smoking gun. It's small and ideal for when you don't have a ton of storage because, ahem, liquor bottles take up an awful lot of space.
- Whether with a smoking gun or smoking top, you can first smoke a decanter and then seal it, allowing the smoke to mingle with the empty space before adding the cocktail to absorb the flavors, or you can add the cocktail and then smoke the decanter. Regardless of your decanter approach, be sure to seal it tightly, so none of the smoke flavor escapes.
- You can smoke more than the finished cocktail! Smoke the glass before adding the cocktail, which works best in highballs or other glasses with large surface areas. You can also smoke individual ingredients, such as just the whiskey, the ice (by smoking the water before and after it freezes), and you can even smoke the garnishes.
- Smoke the cocktail with a charred garnish. Carefully ignite a rosemary sprig or cinnamon stick so that it smolders but isn't on fire. Place it on a heat-safe surface, and then put the glass over the sprig or stick so that it smokes the inside of the glass.
- Char a cocktail smoking board. Websites and stores will advertise it as such. Follow the instructions for your specific board, but generally, you char the board and place your empty glass upside down over the char to absorb the smoke flavors before adding your cocktail.
A few final tips: Clear spirits and creamy cocktails can be finicky with smoking. Stick to stirred and booze-forward cocktails using dark spirits to craft the perfect smoked drink. Think whiskey, dark rum, mezcal, and scotch.
Sinking Into a Smoked Cocktail
Put on your finest smoking jacket, even if it's your long-forgotten bathrobe in the back of your closet, and don't forget your slippers. Select your finest woodchips and get to work on your favorite smoked cocktail recipe. What's that phrase? Oh yeah, smoke 'em if you've got 'em.
