Do you like your drinks smoked or smoking? Kate Malczewski gets the lowdown on all things smoky…

If you love drinks with a side of spectacle, you’ve probably ordered a smoked cocktail at some point while propping up the bar. You know the kind: it’s short, punchy, and served inside a smoke-filled glass dome that’s removed with a flourish, releasing a small bonfire’s worth of vapours into the surrounding area.

In the age of social media, these cocktails, made using smoking guns, are often designed for their Instagrammable nature. When done well, the smoke adds more than just visual impact – it brings a deep, rich layer of complexity to the drink. “There are loads of flavours within smoke, and depending on what you burn and the conditions you burn it in, you get different flavours,” explains Stefanie Holt, the head of education and whisky ambassador for spirits distributor Speciality Brands.

But smoking guns aren’t necessary for great smoky drinks; in fact, Holt advises against them. “Even a lot of bartenders aren’t using them properly and don’t clean them properly, so you get these horrible, bitter smoke flavours,” she says.

Thankfully, there are many other ways to harness the flavours of smoke – no glass domes, molecular mixology credentials, or barbecues necessary. Read on for our guide to smoky cocktails at home …

Go Traditional

Using certain Scotches or mezcals is the most straightforward way to bring a layer of smoky complexity to your cocktail, as the traditional production methods of these spirits lend them smoky flavour profiles.

Peat and Piñas

The intensely smoky notes often associated with Scotch come from peat, a type of decomposed vegetation that’s sometimes burned during the malting process of whisky making (it’s most commonly used in the Islay region of Scotland). As the peat burns, smoke flavours the barley, which is then used to make Scotch. “There’s a very large group of flavour compounds called phenols that come from the peat in the malting process,” says Brendan McCarron, the head of maturing whisky stocks for whisky brands Glenmorangie and Ardbeg. “Those phenols bring smoky complexity to [famously peaty whiskies such as] Ardbeg. You can get saltiness, medicinal notes, iodine, and even antiseptic flavours.”

Phenols also play a role in the smokiness of mezcal, which is made from agave. To produce mezcal, the piña (heart) of the agave plant is traditionally cooked in a fire pit before it is processed further and distilled. The phenols from the burning wood give a smoky flavour to the piñas and, in turn, the finished spirit.

How To Use ‘Em

Not all Scotch whiskies are smoky, and neither are all mezcals – but the ones that deliver big smoke flavours can pack a punch in cocktails. So what’s the best way to use them? McCarron suggests putting them in drinks with strong flavour profiles, like sours and Bloody Marys. “Smoky whiskies are a little more present in a cocktail, so they’ll stand up to a lot of big ingredients,” he explains. 

Holt agrees, but also advocates for the versatility of smoke. “It depends on the spirit, and your taste, and the drink. It depends on how much smoke you’re into,” she says. Full-on smoke lovers can confidently swap in a full measure peaty Scotch for, say, the bourbon in an Old Fashioned, but if you’re after something less heavy-hitting, split the base with a half measure of smoky Scotch and a half measure of fruitier whisky. And if you want just a whisper of smoke in your drink, rinse the glass: pour in just enough of the spirit to coat the bottom of the glass, swirl it around, then pour out the excess. Serve your cocktail in the rinsed glass for a subtle smoky flavour.

Smoke the Herb

Of course, Scotch and mezcal aren’t the only ways to bring the smoke. For a different approach, Holt recommends looking to your garden (or the bundle of herbs in your fridge).

Take a sprig of a woody herb such as rosemary, light it so that it’s smoking, and place it under an upturned glass. “That will smoulder away and smell amazing, and then when you pour the drink into the glass, the smell is still there,” says Holt. “It’s one of my favourite ways to get a smoky flavour into a cocktail, and it’s super cheap and easy.” Just be sure to discard the burnt sprig and garnish with a fresh one to avoid acrid flavours in your drink.

Sugar Rush

A syrup is an excellent way to deliver both sweetness and flavour to a drink. To make a smoky syrup, you have a few options: you can either use a smoked sugar in place of normal white sugar when following a standard simple syrup recipe, or you can use lapsang souchong, a black tea that’s smoked over pinewood, in the syrup.

For the latter approach, brew the tea in water just off the boil and let it steep, then strain out the leaves and stir in white sugar until dissolved.

Holt says these syrups are great in cocktails that traditionally use peated scotch – just sub in the syrup for your sweetener and use a non-smoky spirit in place of the whisky – but they can lend complexity to non-alcoholic drinks, too. We recommend pairing the lapsang souchong syrup with a squeeze of lemon and some sparkling water for a refreshing highball-style no-abv cocktail.

Pass the Salt

Salt is a great cocktail ingredient, and not just in savoury drinks – a few drops of saline solution (salt dissolved in water) can amplify flavours in cocktails of all kinds. So why not use smoked salt in that solution instead to add even more depth? And if you’re partial to a Margarita with a salted rim, you can swap regular sea salt for smoked salt to pack an extra punch.

Speciality Spirits

While smoky notes are typical in peated Scotch and mezcal thanks to their traditional production methods, other spirits are taking on smoky dimensions, too. Keep an eye out for these unique bottles, and use them as you would a smoky Scotch or mezcal…

Freya Woodsmoke Birch Spirit

Recommended by Sarah Ben Saoud, bartender at Pali Hill in Fitzrovia, this spirit is made from birch sap and infused with smoke from apple, birch, and chestnut wood. “Absolutely banging in a Bloody Mary. I would describe it as oaky and mildly savoury,” she says.

Buy It: Master of Malt

Cut Smoked Rum

This powerful expression from Cut Rum is smoked with burnt wood chips, infused with arabica coffee beans, and rested in oak barrels. Its coffee and vanilla notes balance the smoke nicely – we’d like to try it in a riff on the Irish Coffee.

Buy It: Master of Malt

Chase Oak Smoked Vodka

Herefordshire-based Chase Distillery is known for its smooth, round potato vodka, and this expression takes things to the next level by blending that vodka with water smoked with English oak. We think it tastes like bacon in the best way.

Buy It: Amazon

Mount Gay XO Peat Smoke

If you’re really feeling luxurious, Mount Gay’s Peat Smoke bottling is the spirit for you. This rum is finished in casks that previously housed Islay whisky, so it takes on a rich, peaty character that is, quite frankly, delicious. At £200 per bottle, it’s definitely one to sip and savour – but if you use it in a Rum Old Fashioned, we promise not to tell.

Buy It: Master of Malt