Making Smoky Cocktails Is Easy if You Know These Bartender-Approved Tricks

No smoking gun? No problem.

Smoked drinks are a staple on winter cocktail-bar menus around the country. But what if you want to enjoy that warming, smoky flavor  at home and don’t own a smoker?

Aaron Diaz, owner and operator at Noche Mexican BBQ in Louisville, Kentucky, features e more than 50 mezcals and tequilas on the menu. “We love using mezcal to add smokiness, but we know it can be a little overwhelming for some people,” he explains. “A great tip to get the perfect amount of smoke is to use half tequila and half mezcal where it calls for either in a recipe. That means a Margarita with 2 ounces of tequila would be one ounce mezcal and one ounce tequila. “We have a great example at the restaurant, our La Picosa, which is jalapeño-infused El Jimador silver tequila, Del Maguey Vida mezcal, Naranja orange, fresh lime juice, agave, and rimmed with our house Noche Spice Blend and salt,” he adds.

Miranda Densford, beverage director at Barn8 Restaurant & Bourbon Bar in Goshen, Kentucky, also opts to thoughtfully use spirits to add smoke to drinks at home. “For a cocktail that uses clear spirits, I’ll add half an ounce of mezcal, and for dark spirits, I’ll add a peated Scotch.”

In addition to classic peated Scotch like Laphroaig, Octomore, Ardbeg, and Lagavulin, smoky whiskeys are increasingly being produced in the United States and beyond. Wild Turkey Longbranch is a lovely Kentucky straight bourbon that’s been refined with oak and Texas mesquite charcoal, and offers a very subtle whiff of smoke alongside pears, peppery spice, and cooked honey. High West offers their Campfire blend of straight rye, straight bourbon, and blended single malt Scotch whisky, all of which combine to form a particularly smoky dram whose baked pear and toasty toffee notes ride through the long finish. Lost Lantern, which just announced the opening of their first tasting room, in Vergennes, Vermont, has occasionally worked with mesquite-smoked whiskeys, including the Mega Mesquite Whiskey Del Bac Arizona Single Malt. Manatawny Still Works, in Pottstown, PA, makes a peated single malt that would sing in a Rob Roy. Starward, the excellent Australian producer, offers the Peated Finish Single Malt Australian Whisky, whose stint in ex-Islay barrels lends a gorgeous smoky note to cafe mocha and brandied cherries. Any one of these would be excellent in a smoky cocktail.

Related: How to Set Your Cocktails On Fire At Home Without Causing Chaos

Adrienne Stoner, rum community liaison for Maison Ferrand, is of a similar mindset. “For a smoky cocktail at home, I recommend Plantation Stiggins’ Fancy Smoky Formula Rum, which undergoes an extra maturation in ex-Teeling Peated Single Malt Irish Whiskey casks,” she explained. “The peat imparts a balanced note of smoke, which plays well with the fruit-forward rum. The rum adds an unexpected but delicious hint of smoke that elevates any classic daiquiri or Negroni.”

Blair Ault, national brand ambassador for Milam & Greene whiskey, the standout Texas producer, says that the easiest way to smoke a cocktail at home without a smoking gun or cocktail-smoking kit is to use a food-grade flammable. Short cinnamon sticks are easiest, but you can use cloves, untreated wood chips, and dried tea leaves.

To get started, lay down your cinnamon stick or other food-grade flammable on your heating surface, such as granite, ceramic, or a metal cooking tray lined with aluminum foil, and make sure your glass can fit completely over it. Lift the glass and use your lighter to burn the cinnamon stick until it catches fire. Then, quickly place your glass over the cinnamon stick and wait until you see the smoke completely coat the glass —  when you lift up the glass, the fire should no longer be visible, but take care when picking it up. Your glass should have a foggy look to it now and should smell delicious.

You can use your smoked cinnamon stick as flavorful garnish, or dispose of it depending on how much of a smoky flavor you want. Ault notes that you may be able to get multiple uses out of the same food-grade flammables; just light a different side that isn’t charred each time.

Related: 13 Mezcal Cocktails Our Editors Love

I personally enjoy charring a rosemary sprig once in a while to garnish a Negroni or a Boulevardier. I briefly hit it with the flame of a butane torch until it starts crackling and smoking — this only takes a few seconds, because you don’t want it to burn — and then carefully tuck it between a thin wheel of orange and the side of the glass. With each sip, the aroma of smoked rosemary informs the drink itself, lending it an entirely new layer of complexity. Plus, it’s a great way to use up those last few sprigs of rosemary in the fridge before they turn. Win-win!

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