Coconut Oil Is the New Bacon Fat in Cocktails

Mai-Tai

While bacon grease has long been a standby infusion for vodka in Bloody Marys and gin in Red Snappers, the other fats (olive oil, butter, nut butters, coconut oil) have only just begun their reign. Details has compiled a list of bars who’ve used fat with great success.

Dallas’s Michael Martensen at The Knife combines olive oil-washed gin, Chartreuse, vermouth and sea salt for an unami heavy Martini. Morgon Schick of Trick Dog in San Francisco washes rum with cocoa butter. And Chris Buckett of Cusp Dining and Drinks in La Jolla makes his PB Swizzle with coconut oil-washed cachaça, coconut syrup, lime, pineapple and orgeat.

The silky texture that fats give to the cocktails not only accounts for a richer experience (literally), but mellows brighter flavors like mint while sweetening acidic flavors like grapefruit. A particularly intriguing cocktail at Bar Amano in Berlin calls for butter-washed vodka, lime,  grapefruit, apple juice and bitters. Sounds like a fruity gelato. Manhattan’s own Naren Young of Bacchanal makes his Mai-Tai with coconut oil-washed rum (as if the beachy drink could be any more luxurious) for anyone looking to pretend-escape to paradise. [Details] [Image: Flickr/telstar]