Since the "craft cocktail movement" has been causing a stir, you’re about to notice olive oil finding it’s way into bars, if you haven’t already. The kitchen staple has been used for frying, drizzling, baking, dipping and much more, so why not cocktails? We are used to seeing olives on a stick, but what about in its liquid state, inside your drink?
Extra Virgin olive oil (especially a good quality Arbequina) can blend very nicely with vodka and gin-based drinks to add a lovely, fruity twist. To take it even further, try mixing infused oils with spirits and take a simple beverage to a whole new level.
Please use an authentic extra virgin olive oil for this. If it comes in a plastic bottle, forget it. Look for the good stuff, that only comes in 500ml dark glass bottles. From that point on it will depend what you are prepared to pay, but expect to from 7-8 euros or more for 500ml. It will last some time as you will not be using much with each drink.
An olive oil cocktail can compliment foods beautifully, think basil and lemon paired with a white pizza, or rosemary and salt to accompany a classic duck recipe or roast.
Though you can easily experiment at home with your olive oil concoctions, restaurants and bars have already caught on to the olive oil cocktail craze.
Bars in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles are serving up a newcomer called “Fig & Olive” which combined cucumber infused vodka, blood orange olive oil, egg white, simple syrup, celery, lime juice, and blood orange puree. Sounds good enough to eat.
Another mix is the savoury “Oliveto” made from olive oil, raw egg white, lemon, Licor 43 and Gordon’s Gin. Notice how both drinks contain egg whites, which act as an emulsifier with water and oil. That way the oil doesn’t separate. Here is the recipe for the Oliveto, and it's the world's simplest, most classic cocktail recipe - alcohol, citrus, sugar - gilded in all the right ways with an emulsion of egg white and olive oil and the result is spectacular. (Marvel bar - Minneapolis) Prep time - 5 min. - Ingredients for 1 serving:
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Other ingredients that mix well with EVOO are fruits, sugar, and flavoured bitters.
So then, are you up to the task at home? You’ll need a little muscle to get the completed drink to your glass–– a hearty shake is necessary to blend the cocktail well and bring it to a foamy consistency. To finish, pour the olive oil creation into your barware of choice and sip away.