Salt is an essential ingredient in kitchens across the world. When added to food, the mineral can enhance the flavors and textures of other ingredients, making dishes taste richer, bolder, and just flat-out better. So, why would it be any different when it comes to cocktails? While the concept of a salted drink might evoke memories of overly brined Dirty Martinis, adding a hint of salt to your cocktail shaker can bring balance and even cut down the amount of sweetener you need.
To learn more about the importance of salting cocktails and which drinks can benefit from it, we tapped Trey Sanford, bar manager at Anchorage, Alaska’s South Restaurant + Coffeehouse.
As Sanford explains, most cocktails — even the classics — can benefit from a pinch or two of the stuff, as it dulls volatile compounds like citric acid while helping to enhance flavor. In his experience, he’s found that cocktails made with salt tend to need less sweetener and can achieve more balance than their non-salted counterparts. While salt is most often incorporated into sour cocktails, Sanford argues that it should be used in more spirit-forward builds.
“Whether it’s a few dashes of saline solution in a Whiskey Sour, a pinch of smoked salt in an Old Fashioned, or flaky sea salt in a Gin & Tonic with cucumber and pink peppercorn, most of your classics can benefit from the flavor enhancement,” he says. “In fact, I can’t think of a single drink that wouldn’t benefit from it.”
Considering there are over a dozen types of salt, the world is your oyster when it comes to choosing which type is best suited to your build of choice. Smoked salts tend to do best in drinks made with brown spirits, while flaky sea salt works well in a Margarita or Gin & Tonic. And if you’re concerned with overdoing it, Sanford recommends using saline solution instead of salt crystals.
“Much like butter, salt should be measured with your heart. But for a democratic baseline, I recommend using two to three drops of 20 percent saline solution,” he says, which you can make by combining 80 grams of water with 20 grams of salt. By using saline solution, especially in low doses to start, you can better control and adjust your drink’s salt level. If you want to skip the saline solution, start with a two-finger pinch of flaky salt, which equates to about one-eighth to one-quarter teaspoon.
From there, you can expand your horizons by tossing some salt into your liquor bottles while fat-washing to add more dimension to your spirit. At South Restaurant + Coffeehouse, both the Dirty Bird (a Dirty Gin & Tonic) and the Dirty Martini are served with an olive oil-washed gin enhanced with fino sherry and sea salt. With this technique, Sanford can mimic the taste of olive brine without any additional dilution, thus creating a more concentrated, briny flavor.
You can also level up your game by opting for salt made in different regions of the world to see how the different compounds impact your drink’s taste. “Just like any other food product, salt has terroir,” Sanford says. “And I think that’s really overlooked sometimes in cocktail circles.”
*Image retrieved from fahrwasser via stock.adobe.com
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