4 Simple Steps to Better Cocktail Garnishes
There’s no denying the visual impact of a good cocktail garnish—hand someone a beautiful drink, and it definitely gets their attention. But did you know that the primary function of a good garnish goes beyond how it looks?
A great garnish will also add aroma or enhance flavor. As our founder and owner Karen likes to point out, 90 percent of what you taste is what you smell. If you smell something really great at the beginning of the cocktail, that’s going to be part of taste sensation. It’s why we keep so many garnish supplies on hand behind the Montanya bar:
A great example of a thoughtful garnish came from the winning cocktail at the 2019 Battle of the Bartenders. Eliot Tilton of the Divvy included a Makrut lime peel and a piece of candied ginger on a skewer, with instructions to smell the peel and eat the ginger as a way to enrich the overall flavor of the cocktail. It felt like such a fun surprise, and made the act of drinking a cocktail feel more like an experience.
At Montanya, Karen likes to think about how a garnish enhances the aroma, the surface of the cocktail, the rim of the glass or the way you drink it. Here are four simple tips to think about garnishing differently and take your cocktails to the next level:
Think Beyond the Sugar Rim
Sugar combinations behind the bar at Montanya.
We love a good sugar rim, but a visit to the Tasting Room will show you that we don’t stop there. Depending on the season’s menu, we also use combinations like spiced sugar (Turbinado sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg) and chili sugar (as featured on the Cafe Picante).
The Sweet Tooth uses a salted rim for that classic sweet and salty combination, and The White Room features a crushed almond rim. The trick is to pick ingredients that complement the cocktail’s flavor—if it’s already sweet, for example, you might want to try something other than a pure sugar rim.
We think the key is to experiment and have fun. You’ll learn over time what you like and what you don’t.
Sprinkle with Spices
This is a common practice in the world of coffee drinks, especially when they come with whipped cream. 😊 A similar addition can enhance some cocktails by adding aroma and an extra bit of flavor to that first sip.
In the Tasting Room, the Winter Tea looks extra pretty and smells even better with a whole star anise. For the Elixer we go bold with a bit of cayenne. The White Room gets a pinch of almond bits and powdered cinnamon on top, and the Cafe Picante also benefits from a dusting of cinnamon.
The trick with spices is to start small. It’s always easier to add more than take some away!
Think Outside the Lime
Garnishes add aroma and flavor to cocktails.
We love limes, and serve and enjoy our fair share of cocktails with a lime wheel or lime twist on the rim. It’s such a perfect combination of aroma and flavor! But there are so many fruits and fresh herbs that add just as much to a great rum cocktail.
Our Bay Manhattan comes with a bay leaf, the Painkiller a wedge of fresh pineapple, and the Cucumber Templar with fresh mint on top and thin, long slices of fresh cucumber to line the glass. The Basil Paradisi has fresh basil, and in the Salty Dog you’ll find rosemary. And for those who like a little spice in their life, the Caldera has a slice of jalapeño. A truly outside-of-the-box garnish is smoke, as shown in this video of the Smokeshow.
The opportunities are truly endless, and allow you to complement the flavor profile of the cocktail, make your drinks feel extra fresh, and experiment with in-season flavors.
Ignite the Essence
Last winter we added a fun twist to the Elixer, igniting the orange essence before serving. It’s a fabulous way to enhance the aroma of an orange rind, and never ceases to impress our customers sitting at the bar:
You can do this same thing for any kind of citrus, and be sure to impress your guests!
More from the Blog:
4 Ways to enjoy happy hour without sugar
Three-Ingredient Cocktails