Umami Cocktails To Tickle Your Tastebuds

If we were to ask Ross from Friends what his favorite flavor in cocktails was, he’d probably point a finger gun to his head, turn both his head and the gun, and say, “Umami!” Now whether the divorce fiend genuinely likes to savor savory spirits or not, umami cocktails are a spicy way to put a spin on your cocktail experience. So, let’s take a detour from the typical tasting spirits and explore the flavors of umami cocktails.

6 Umami Cocktails To Savor

1. Lovage In The Garden
2. Farmer’s Cocktail
3. Mexican Martini
4. Bloody Mary
5. Oyster Shooter
6. Tomato Spritz

1. Lovage In The Garden

Do you know what’s better than trying to make love in the garden, getting caught, maybe even beat, and imprisoned for indecent exposure? Making Lovage in the Garden, exploring a new flavor, and enjoying a tomato-flavored, vodka powered cocktail!

Lovage in the Garden is a cocktail that does away with the typical sweet and sour flavors in cocktails for a vegetal, fresh, and even spicy taste.

Ingredients

• 3 cherry tomatoes
• 4 lovage leaves
• 0.5 oz. of agave syrup
• 2 oz. of vodka (preferably hopped vodka)
• 0.5 oz. of bitter aperitif
• 0.75 oz. of freshly squeezed lime juice
• A pinch of ghost pepper salt
• Lovage sprigs to garnish

How To Make Lovage In The Garden

1. Gently muddle the cherry tomatoes, lovage leaves, and agave syrup in a shaker.
2. Add the vodka, bitter aperitif, lime juice, ghost pepper salt, and ice, and shake well until chilled.
3. Strain the mixture into a rocks glass over fresh ice.
4. Garnish with a sprig of lovage.

2. Farmer’s Cocktail

You know a country is truly making strides when even the primary producers get a moment to kick back and partake in the spirits. Now, whether the strides are in the right direction or not is a subject for completely different, much heated discussion. How about we cool ourselves with a chill, spicy, yet watermelon-flavored cocktail instead?

Ingredients

• 3 cubes of watermelon (1-inch-thick)
• 0.75 oz. of simple syrup
• 2 oz. of neutral grain spirit (a type of high-proof alcohol, distilled from grains like corn, wheat, or barley)
• 0.25 oz. of bitter aperitif
• 1 oz of freshly pressed tomato juice
• 0.75 oz. of freshly squeezed lime juice
• 3 cherry tomatoes for garnish

How To Make Farmer’s Cocktail

1. Muddle the watermelon cubes and simple syrup in a shaker.
2. Add the distilled grain spirit, bitter aperitif, tomato and lime juices, and ice, and shake well until chilled.
3. Double-strain the mixture into a highball glass.
4. Spear the cherry tomatoes and add to your drink as garnish.

Also Read: 7 Underrated Cocktails That Deserve More Love

3. Mexican Martini

Picture this, the suave, smooth and dashing James Bond, but in a Sombrero! The Mexican Martini is a mix of a Margarita and a Dirty Martini but no unholy child like James Bond from a Mariachi band. This fusion is a divine umami cocktail that brings together the flavors of oranges, lime and olives. With tequila as its base spirit is a savory cocktail that could be well on its way to becoming your “regular”.

Ingredients

• 2 oz. of tequila
• 1.5 oz. of triple sec
• 1.5 oz. of freshly squeezed lime juice
• 0.5 oz of green olive brine
• Salt rim (optional), lime wedges, and olive to garnish

How To Make Mexican Martini

1. Dampen the rim of a Martini glass with a lime wedge, and garnish the rim with salt (optional).
2. Add the tequila, triple sec, lime juice, and olive brine to a shaker with ice and shake well until chilled.
3. Strain into the chilled and rimmed Martini glass.
4. Add olives and a lime wedge to garnish.

Also Read: Love Pink Cocktails? These 6 Barbie Cocktails Are A Must!

4. Bloody Mary

Whether you find yourself hankering for a savory cocktail, wish to summon the dead, or just cuss at someone named Mary, all you need to do is shout, “Bloody Mary” (repetitions may cause varying effects, use sparingly and wisely). For the cocktail, you do have to get off your behind and go on a bit of a shopping spree, and get mixing too. The Bloody Mary is a classic and a go-to cocktail for anyone looking to wet their lips with some spirits, and their brows with some sweat. That’s right, Mary’s spicy, and you better be ready.

Ingredients

• Celery salt
• 1 lemon wedge
• 1 lime wedge
• 2 oz. of vodka
• 4 oz. of tomato juice
• 2 tsp. of prepared horseradish
• 2 dashes of Tabasco sauce
• 2 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
• 1 pinch each of ground black pepper and smoked paprika
• Parsley sprig, 2 green olives, a lime wedge, and a celery stock (optional) for garnish.

How To Make Bloody Mary

1. Dampen the rim of a pint glass with a lime or lemon wedge and roll it in a plate of celery salt to garnish the rim of the glass. Pour some ice in the glass and set aside.
2. Squeeze the juices of the lemon and lime wedges along with the wedges into a shaker.
3. Add the vodka, tomato juice, horseradish, Tabasco, Worcestershire sauce, black pepper, smoked paprika, plus a pinch of celery salt along into the shaker with ice, and gently shake till well chilled.
4. Strain the mixture into the prepared pint glass.
5. Add 2 speared green olives, parsley leaves, a lime wedge, and a celery stalk (optional) to garnish.

Also Read: 6 Cocktails That Are Just Too Overrated, According To Us

5. Oyster Shooter

We’re coming in live with the Beach News channel! Jewelry shops along the coastline have been hit in a string of firearm attacks. The shops that were hit share one commonality… all of them specialized in pearl jewelry.

Our field reporters are telling us that the identity of the attackers has been revealed. Turns out the assailants were a bunch of…

Oyster Shooters!

Harrowing news aside, the Oyster Shooter is not named so because the shellfish are an active ingredient in the cocktail (that’d be pretty selfish against the vegetarians). The drink gets its name as it goes well and is often paired with fresh oysters. So, if you get your hands on some fresh oysters, this is the drink you chase it with. If not, Oyster Shooters are pretty good shots too (get it? ok we’ll stop now).

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp. of chili salt
• 1 lime wedge
• 10 oz. of the juice of celery stalks
• 10 oz. of cucumber juice, freshly peeled and squeezed
• 10 oz. of tomatillo juice (can be replaced with the juice of unripe/green tomatoes, mixed with lime juice)
• 6 oz. of mezcal
• 3 tsp. of green Tabasco sauce
• 1 tsp of. freshly cracked black pepper
• 1 tsp. of sea salt
• Freshly shucked oysters for garnish (optional)

How To Make Oyster Shooter

1. Dampen the rims of 12 shot glasses with a lime wedge, and dip the rim of these glasses in a plate of the chili salt. Set the shot glasses aside for later.
2. Add the juices of celery, cucumber, and tomatillo (or tomato and lime juice mixture) into a pitcher and stir to combine.
3. Add the mezcal, green Tabasco, pepper, and salt into the pitcher and stir to combine.
4. Divide the mixture between the shot glasses.
5. Place a freshly shucked oyster on top of each. Eat the oyster first, then do the shot.

Also Read: Disney-Themed Cocktails To Try Right Now

6. Tomato Spritz

If you’re in the mood for a drink, but your dietician suggested you eat more salads, this is the drink for you. The drink is made with ingredients like tomatoes, parsley, and grapes (well, liquid grapes in the form of prosecco, but it’s the thought that counts, right?) The Tomato Spritz has umami flavors due to the gin, that couple perfectly with the tangy freshness of tomatoes and celery.

Ingredients

• 0.25 oz. of gin
• 2 oz. of dry vermouth
• 1.5 oz. of tomato water
• 0.25 oz. of cherry tomato shrub
• Chilled club soda, to top
• Chilled prosecco, to top
• Halved cherry tomatoes and parsley stalk to garnish

How To Make Tomato Spritz

1. Except the club soda and prosecco, add and stir all the ingredients into a Collins glass filled with ice.
2. Add equal parts club soda and prosecco to top the mixture, and stir again gently for a short time to combine.
3. Add a halved cherry tomato and a parsley stalk to garnish.

P.S. Here’s how you make the tomato water and tomato shrub for your cocktail.

Tomato Water:

1. Take 500 gms of tomatoes and mash in a blender.
2. Let the mixture of tomato pulp, skin, and juice sit in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
3. Let the refrigerated mixture sit in a strainer, allowing all the liquids from it to collect in a separate container.
4. The separated liquid can be refrigerated and should be used in a day.

Tomato Shrub:

1. Add 0.75 cups of halved cherry tomatoes, 0.75 cups of granulated sugar, 3.5 oz. of wine vinegar, 3 oz. of dry rosé, and 0.75 oz. of raspberry vinegar in a saucepan, and cook over low heat till the sugar dissolves and the cherry tomatoes are soft.
2. Remove the mixture from heat and place over an ice bath to cool.
3. Once cooled, pour the mixture into a blender and make a puree.
4. Strain the puree into a container. Can be used within a week if refrigerated well.

Also Read: Best Cocktails For Men To Order On A First Date

Summing Up

Whether you’re new to drinking or a veteran, cocktails typically remind most people of sweet or sour drinks. Due to the big names in this flavor being few and far between, the umami or savory taste comprises a dimension of cocktails that often go unnoticed.

Wash away ignorance from your palate and give these umami cocktails a try, your new spiced up drinking experience will thank you.

FAQs

What Is Umami In Cocktails?

Umami is the fifth flavor, after sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. The flavor of umami is present in meats and other rich foods, and pairs well with spirits alone as well as cocktails.

How To Add Umami To Cocktails?

Umami flavors can be added to cocktails using ingredients like horseradish, tabasco sauce, worcestershire sauce, paprika powder, chili, celery salts and more.

What Is The Flavor Of Umami?

The word savory is often used to describe the flavor of Umami. Cheeses, meats, and various sauces contain the umami flavor.

What Pairs Well With Umami?

Neutral and fresh vegetal flavors pair well with umami. Pair your umami-flavor foods and cocktails with lighter flavors to help them complement each other.

Why Is It Called Umami?

The word umami is derived from the Japanese word for ‘delicious’. The word umami itself means “the essence of deliciousness” in Japanese.

How To Pair Umami With Wine?

Pair umami foods with light and fruity wines. High alcohol content does not go well with umami flavors often, so stick to wines that focus more on flavors apart from the taste of spirits.

Does Wine Have Umami?

Although most wines have fruity and light sweet notes, some white wines as well as red wines from warmer regions have prominent umami flavor notes.