Meet the Latest TikTok Trend of Smoking Cocktails

July 20, 2022 by Sonja Edridge

It may seem gimmicky and remind you of chemistry class, but smoking cocktails has become ultra-trendy lately, with TikTok alight with captivating displays of smoke billowing over Old Fashioned or Bourbon cocktails.

The craze started back in the early 2000s, when a creative New York City bartender made a bourbon and cola mix that he smoked, and this oh-so dramatic trend has since seen classics revamped and modern masterpieces created. The inception of the smoking phenomenon is easy to understand if you imagine bourbon and whiskey ageing in oak barrels, so the addition of the smoky notes into these drinks doesn’t feel like a stretch.

What is a smoked cocktail?

Two rosemary smoked cocktails in rocks glasses on a dark background

Smoking a drink is essentially bathing or infusing it with smoke. Just like there’s smoked salt or smoked fish, a drink, glass or cocktail ingredient can be smoked to impart a depth of flavour and smoky complexity into a cocktail, while at the same time being utterly intriguing.

Why you should try smoking cocktails

So why do people smoke cocktails? Apart from all the drama it adds, smoking a drink adds depth of flavour and really brings another dimension to the taste of your cocktail. Smoking cocktails adds extra aromatic appeal too so you can enhance the profiles of the flavour already in the mix. Some of the best cocktails to smoke are those with earthy herb notes, like Campari or bitters. Take a Negroni or an Old Fashioned, for example. Smoking cocktails will elevate the delicious subtle notes.

Can you smoke cocktails at home?

“Don’t try this at home” is not a warning that comes with smoking cocktails; it’s safe and relatively easy to smoke cocktails at home. Pro bartenders typically smoke the snifter or whiskey glass with a fandangled wooden gadget called a smoke top, or a cap filled with woodchips. Assuming you don’t have any fancy cocktail making kit at home, let’s talk you through the technique that aficionados call smoke-rinsing.

Before you get going, here are a few things to think about:

Choosing your smoke: Think about what flavours would enhance your cocktail, then choose a combustible material to match like wood chips, whole spices (i.e., a cinnamon stick), leaf tea, tobacco or woody fragrant herbs like lavender or rosemary. Experiment and have fun.

Determine what you want:

For a light smoky aroma to enhance your drink, smoke your cocktail once poured. If you own a cake dome or large metal bowl, pour your cocktail into the glass on a heatproof surface next to your (lit) smoking chips, cover both with the dome or bowl and allow it to smoke briefly.

If you prefer a stronger smoky taste that blends or permeates your drink, then smoke your glass before pouring in your cocktail. The smoke will stick to the surface of the glass and ice. Learn how:

Smoke-rinsing your glass or wide-mouthed jar:

Start with a chilled glass or mason jar —smoke sticks better to cold glasses
Take a piece of rosemary or woodchips and place it on a heatproof marble or tile surface that you don’t mind charring up a bit
Light the rosemary or chips with a blowtorch or a long match
Put out any flames and place your glass or jar, turned upside down, over the smoking rosemary and allow it to fill up with smoke
Once the smoke dissipates, turn your glass upright and pour in your cocktail

The trick is to treat the smoke as an ingredient, so it blends into your cocktail rather than overpowering it. For example, in a pineapple Margarita, for a delicate smoke, you can smoke the pineapple juice in a glass or mason jar before blending it with the other ingredients.

What are the essential tools for smoking cocktails?

If you are more invested in this technique, look out simple cold smoking kits like smoke tops, consisting of a small disc of wood (with a hole in the centre) that seals your glass, with an indent to light a sprinkle of chips and a small hole that infuses smoke into your cocktail in less than a minute.

For a next level experience there is a more sophisticated gadget called a smoking gun, where you load chips into the device and the smoke is infused via a tube with a spout.

To give it a try, you’ll need:

An assortment of flavoured woodchips or woody herbs: try cherry, applewood or mesquite or herbs like rosemary, sage or lavender
A vessel in which to smoke your cocktail: a large mason jar with a lid or a jug with a flat top that you can place a saucer on to seal in the smoke
Matches, a lighter with a long spout or a blowtorch.

TOP TIP: Avoid butane taste – don’t light your blowtorch right on your smoke top or glass

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Smoking cocktails in a bar or at home is made easier with cocktail smokers. There are various set ups and options for you to choose from to infuse your drink or glass with smoke, such as a smoke top—a wooden disc with a small indent where you can smoke your wood chips and a little hole to allow the smoke to fill the glass below. There are also larger pieces of kit like a smoking box as well as a cloche or smoking lid, which you can pop onto your smoking chips.

You can very simply smoke a cocktail at home by adding your liquid to a mason jar or a jug with a lid, trap some smoke in the cavity space with a smoke top or lid and allow the magic to happen. Alternatively, you can upturn a glass over some smoking chips or herbs to allow the smoke flavours to adhere to your glass before pouring in your cocktail.

You only need to contain the smoke for a short while to infuse your drink with flavours, so adding a lid of sorts, like a smoke top or cloche, will contain the smoke.

Smoking a glass before you pour a cocktail into it allows the smoke to stick to the surface of the glass (and ice), which then blends into the flavour of the drink

Investing in cocktail kit isn’t necessary. Why not start with simple tools from your kitchen to see whether you fall in love with the magical drama and smoky flavours in your favourite cocktails? Try before you buy!

Yes, smokers are safe, obviously just be careful when you’re lighting woodchips and herbs, make sure to not leave it unattended and remember to put out the flames. Also take note on what surface you’re lighting things on as it will mark.