Wow, it’s been a minute 3 months. Time flies when you’re stuck at home, I guess. We got a dog; she’s a good girl. And dumb, but in the best way. Her name’s Nori. Other than that, not much different. I’ve been making good drinks, just haven’t had the energy to write much about them.
This month’s theme for the HBA is Transformation, meaning the drink must contain at least one ingredient that’s been transformed or modified from its unadulterated state and is inspired by the Spring season. Infusions technically counted, but were discouraged since they’re easy. I decided this was a great excuse to finally try fat washing.
Fat Washing In General
I won’t get too into the science of fat washing, because Serious Eats has already done that much better than I ever could. The idea is that you’re trying to get fat (any kind of fat) into a spirit (any kind of spirit) while keeping the spirit visually clear. It makes the spirit taste a bit heavier and lends umami to the flavor. You do this by combining liquid fat with a spirit at room temperature, letting it meld for a while, then freezing the mixture and scraping off the fat the solidifies.
It’s quite easy overall, and you can use any spirit and any fat. My drinks were admittedly a bit tame, but I wanted to focus on classic drinks that were altered only by the fattened spirit, and I wanted that fat to be subtle enough that you had to look for it.
Salted Butter-Washed Rum
I used Plantation 5 Year as a base because it’s simply my favorite aged rum that isn’t too sweet. I didn’t want something overly sweet so that the umami could come through, and I think a lot of the South American rums that I also love might struggle there.
I chose salted butter because I wanted to recreate some of a hot buttered rum profile in a short cold drink. I used Kerrygold specifically because it’s my favorite butter and yes, I have a favorite butter. If you don’t, you haven’t had good butter… I melted an ounce in a small pan over our warmer to avoid it browning. I wanted pure salt, not extra sweetness, so I was avoiding any browning.
I combined the melted butter with 5 ounces of rum in a shallow tupperware and let the mixture hang out on the counter for the rest of the day. Then, I transferred to the freezer. After a full day, the fat had definitely solidified but not in a consistent layer on the top; it was in smaller balls. I poured the mixture through a strainer into a large mason jar and then added that back to the freezer to repeat the process. The second strain didn’t catch much, so that was probably overkill.
I still don’t know why this happened, but the result worked well in the end. Since I think there was still quite a bit of butter in the spirit I wouldn’t have kept it for more than a few days, but since I only had 5 ounces I wasn’t worried. And the balls left behind of the fat are really cool! I think they’re destined to top a waffle.
Old Fashioned Cocktail
My old fashioned was 2.5 oz of the butter-washed rum, 2 dashes of Angostura bitters, 1 dash of chocolate bitters, and .25 oz of Root 23 vanilla-ginger syrup. The salty butter definitely shines, and it helps bring out the brighter flavors in both the base rum and the syrup. It’s definitely sweet, but that brightness isn’t something I had achieved before in a simple rum old fashioned. Had my washing gone better, I think it would have been even smoother.
This drink definitely felt like spring because an underlying heaviness was brightened significantly. It’s like a normal old fashioned started getting some sun after a while.
Olive Oil-Washed Gin
This was a much smoother process. I combined 6 oz of Commerce Gin with 2 oz of good olive oil in a small mason jar. I left that jar in the pantry for 3 days, then transferred to the freezer for a full 48 hours undisturbed. The resulting spirit here was much clearer than the buttered rum, and the fat congealed to a solid disc that was easily fished out of the jar.
Martini
My martini was 2 oz of the washed gin and .75 oz of Carpano Bianco garnished with lemon zest. It was the best martini I’ve ever had. The vermouth, juniper, and olive fruitiness are pretty much perfect in my book. For those that prefer a bone-dry martini, I’d cut a good amount of vermouth – this was dry, but it could be drier and still be delicious.
Because it’s a bit sweeter, I thought it fit perfectly with the season compared to a more “normal” martini. The base level umami from the oil adds a bit more backbone to keep it from being quaffable, but you could get through this quickly…
