Smoke Lab Vodka partners with the Chilled 100 Bartenders to create exceptional cocktails using its latest expression, Smoke Lab Aniseed Vodka along with its flagship Smoke Lab Vodka.
Our group of expert bartenders were invited to a playful exploration of aniseed—a much loved Indian herb with refreshing notes of fennel and licorice finishing with a creamy, sweetness and delicate fennel blossom not on the palate.
Check out the first round of recipes here and stay tuned for more recipes next week.
Jacob Sunny
Mixologist / Manager at Bastille Brassiere & Bar
@coqtail_artist
Tusli Toddy
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 oz Smoke Lab Anise Vodka
- 3/4 oz Fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 oz honey
- 2 oz Tulsi Tea*
Preparation: Pour lemon juice, honey, and tulsi tea into a teacup. Add Smoke Lab Anise vodka and stir to mix and dilute. Garnish with one star anise
*Tulsi Tea
Ingredients:
- 1 oz Ground Ginger
- 1 oz Dried Tulsi Leaves
- 1 oz Maze
Preparation: Mix everything together and add hot water.
Rice and Curry
Ingredients:
- 1 1/4 oz Smoke Lab Vodka
- 1 oz Fresh mango juice
- 1/4 oz tamarind syrup*
- 1/4 Cointreau
- 1/2 oz fresh lime juice
- 3-4 curry leaves
Preparation:
- Crack 2 clarified ice cubes with a bar spoon and place them in a cocktail shaker.
- Muddle 3-4 curry leaves with lime juice in the cocktail shaker.
- Add vodka, mango juice, Cointreau, and tamarind syrup*.
- Shake vigorously for 20 seconds to chill, mix, and dilute.
- Double strain into coupe glass.
- Express lime zest over cocktail and discard peel.
- Garnish with mango slices on the rim
*Tamarind syrup:
- 3 oz Tamarind
- 6 oz Hot water
- 6 oz sugar
Mix everything together until sugar melts and tamarind breaks down. Strain and store.
Justice Hall
Bartender at OKPB DC
@Justicejhall
The Tãne of Smoke Lab
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 oz Smoke Lab Aniseed Vodka
- 1/2 oz fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 oz honey
- 1/2 oz orange juice
- 1/4 oz allspice dram
- 1/4 oz falernum
- 2 dashes angostura bitters
Preparation: Shake all ingredients with ice and strain over pebble ice in tiki mug. Garnish with orange wheel dusted with nutmeg or cinnamon.
Hara
Ingredients:
- 2 oz. Smoke Lab Vodka
- 3 slices peeled cucumber.
- ½ of a lime cut in pieces.
- ¾ oz honey syrup
- 2 dashes chocolate bitters
Glassware: Double rocks glass
Garnish: fruit/veg in bottom of glass
Method: Muddle cucumbers and lime pieces in shaker tin. Add the rest of the ingredients and lightly shake to incorporate. “dirty dump” cocktail into glass and top with crushed ice.
*I used Scrappy’s chocolate bitters and made a 2:1 honey syrup.
Nikki Drake
Director of Wine & Spirits at Revel & Unwined
@nikkialexisdrake
Triple Lime Gimlet
Ingredients:
- 2 oz Smoke Lab Vodka
- 1 oz Triple lime basil cordial*
- 1 oz Fresh Lime juice
- 2 dashes Scrappy’s Cardamom Bitters
Preparation: To make the cocktail, combine all ingredients in a shaker tin with plenty of ice. Hard shake and double strain over a large rock into a single rocks glass. Garnish with edible rose or other edible aromatic flower.
*Triple Lime Basil Cordial (One quart cooled previously made 1:1 by weight simple syrup)
Ingredients:
- Zest 4 key limes
- 10 kaffir lime leaves
- 10 basil leaves
Preparation: Combine simple syrup, lime zest, and lime leaves in non-reactive container and let infuse 20-30 minutes at room temperature. This is important…if the syrup is hot this will cook the limes and it will taste cooked rather than fresh. Strain through fine mesh strainer. Add 10 basil leaves, and blend in a Vitamin or other blender on high for 20 second. Strain through cheesecloth, bottle, label, and date. Use day of for best results.
Kashmiri Martini
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 oz Smoke Lab Aniseed Vodka
- 1 1/2 oz Saffron Infused Capitoline Blanc (or Lillet Blanc) Vermouth*
- Lemon expression
- 3 small mint leaves
- 3 golden raisins
Preparation: For a bonus, soak the golden raisins in ginger beer for a couple hours to add extra aromatics. In a mixing glass, combine Smoke Lab Aniseed Vodka with Saffron Infused Blanc Vermouth and stir over plenty of ice. Strain into a chilled coupe or Nick & Nora. Express a lemon peel over the surface of the Martini. Garnish with 3 each golden raisins and small fragrant mint leaves, alternating on a skewer.
*Saffron Blanc Vermouth
Ingredients :
- 1 750 ml bottle Capitoline Blanc Vermouth (Lillet Blanc if Capitoline is unavailable)
- 15 saffron threads
*Heat saffron with 4 oz of the vermouth over medium low heat until the saffron becomes fragrant. Combine with the rest of the bottle of vermouth in a non-reactive container and let infuse for 24 hours. Strain through cheesecloth, keep refrigerated for up to 45 days
