LONDON (AP) — Spicy drinks are having a moment, and it’s no longer just standard spicy margs and bloody marys. Bartenders are getting experimental to create the perfect combination with a kick.“The same way that you want to season a steak or a pork chop, you want to add multiple layers. And I think spice does that if you do it the right way,” says Turner Greaves, bartender at New York’s Sip and Guzzle.He makes a tequila highball called Doctor Green which he describes as “super-herbaceous, vegetal, a little bitter. It’s got tomatillo, green apple, shiso, horseradish, and then you can make it spicier with a little serrano pepper on the side.”Customers get to add more spice with a little spice dropper delivered with their serve.
Cocktail tastes are changing from sweet to savoryJames Stevenson, co-founder of Brutes of Mayfair cocktail bar in London, says drinks were very sweet when he started out 20 years ago, and now consumers’ tastes have shifted.“I think there’s a real movement toward savory cocktails,” he says. “Every drink we put on the menu that is more savory or has a pickled element or spice element tends to be our bestseller.”Stevenson makes a mezcal-based Bagheera which he describes as a turbo-spiced margarita.“We juice (blend) rather than shaking the drink, with fresh chile and coriander,” he says. They make a fresh syrup, adding tequila and freshly squeezed lime, and finish off the drink with a house-made tajin salt rim.
