Talk about your pretentious cocktails… The Wall Street Journal reports that some bars are offering mixed drinks with very unusual ingredients, including bits of food:
Blue cheese, cucumbers and pieces of ham are showing up in cocktail glasses. Chili peppers, avocados, figs, truffles, cream cheese, graham crackers, fish, gelatins, foams and flowers all are swimming in gin or cognac or champagne.
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Other bars garnish with everything from olives stuffed with prosciutto or caviar, to pickled okra, apple slices and ramps (wild leeks).
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a Bloody Mary made of lemon cake with horseradish sauce, celery sorbet and jellied vodka…
One explanation given is that with the recent increase in new types of flavored liquor and cordials, companies are trying to come up with exotic drinks featuring their new products, hiring “bar chefs” to incorporate food into drinks in some cases. Also, restaurants are serving “dessert cocktails” that are featured on both their bar and dessert menus in an attempt to increase profits. I guess I can see how some experimentation in the “mixology” world is a good thing, but I think taking it to this extreme is just too weird…
