Cocktails
Going nuts for cocktails!
The nut, as an ingredient in alcoholic beverages, is making a comeback. Ten years ago, cocktail connoisseurs may have turned their noses up at the mere mention of a nut liqueur: they would have run scared if a Frangelico hazelnut liqueur or even a shot of almond amaretto had been mentioned.
However, a sea of change is on its way, one that started in the States just a couple of years ago. Homemade liqueurs, infusions and purees from pistachio, macadamia and even walnuts have been slowly creeping onto cocktail menus in the UK and Europe.
Far from being sweet and ordinary, the new generation of cocktails and mixologists have transformed the nut into a key ingredient in a variety of cocktails. Below are just a few of our current favourite nut infusions:
Yours Truly, found at The Dead Rabbit, NYC
The Dead Rabbit is one of our favourite historic haunts in Manhattan, and they have well and truly got in on the “nuts in cocktails” act. The Yours Truly cocktail features the large macadamia nut, adding a hint of bitter-sweet to an otherwise fruity concoction.
The Majorelle Man, found at The Queen of Hoxton, Shoreditch
Oh, we do love the Queen of Hoxton. On its carousel of cocktail menus, it currently features the pistachio, a nut usually reserved only for funny looking ice creams. Their Majorelle Man however manages to successfully combine the pistachio with chocolate bitters over an alcoholic base of whisky and Cointreau. It is divine.
Jaguar, found at the Nightjar, Shoreditch
The speakeasy styled Nightjar, a dark, vintage bar in East London has also given the nut a whirl on their drinks menu. The Jaguar is their stand-out cocktail, featuring a tiger nut infusion along with cognac, sherry and ginger, orange and lime flavours. We were as intrigued as you are at the sound of the tiger nut and the cocktail is heady and sweet (but not too sweet). We have since discovered that apparently the tiger nut is not a nut but a small tuber (vegetable to you and me), but we still like it, and if the peanut can get away with it…
