While texture might not be something you think about when it comes to cocktails, mixologists certainly do

When it comes to cocktails, texture can be trickier to grasp.

In the general scheme of things, “texture” is a word that’s easy to define. We can physically feel it through touch and recognize it when eating. But when it comes to cocktails, texture can be trickier to grasp.

Or that’s what I thought before I heard Machine Hospitality Group Beverage Director Aneka Saxon talk about her drinks at the group’s newest venture, Dearly Beloved. Cocktail after cocktail, texture was a word that came up often and, even better, was something I could identify when tasting her drinks.

“When I started in this industry, it was first learning about the balance of acidity, sweetness and the spirit,” Saxon said. Exploring aroma and how you can taste one thing and smell something totally different was next on her education list. That evolved into “how does this drink actually feel while I’m drinking it.” Her answer? “It’s shown me that to take a drink from average to exceptional can often be down to texture.”

While for most of us on the guest side of the bar, texture isn’t something we think about when it comes to the cocktails we are drinking, it’s often top of mind for those who are making them.

“Texture is one of the first things I think about after I decide the style of the drink — rocks, tall, up, long — and figure out what the drink wants to be,” said Peter Vestinos of Bisous and Sparrow. “It is also the last thing I go back to when tweaking a cocktail. We don’t talk it about it, but it’s something we do.”

For JP Hernandez, who created the cocktail menu at just-opened Americano and leads the bar program at Koval Distillery’s tasting room, texture is regularly his cocktail fixer. “Sometimes, I make a cocktail that I think is perfect in my head, but something is missing once I make it,” he said. “I often use texture to get it right.”

That was the case with a vodka-based key lime cocktail he created a few years back. Hernandez struggled to find a way to improve the “boring” cocktail. Until that is, he infused graham crackers into the vodka overnight and then filtered the spirit. “It added an element of texture to almost where you wanted to bite the drink,” he said. “It made the entire the cocktail and almost was the most important thing.”

Hernandez is also a fan of clarifying cocktails with dairy. When combined with citrus, the milk curdles, becoming a filter that absorbs the solids in the cocktail. Once strained, the cocktail comes out crystal clear. “A benefit of this technique is that it leaves your cocktail with a nice silky-smooth mouthfeel,” he said.

For Americano’s clarified strawberry daiquiri, Hernandez uses whole milk, while heavy cream is used to add a richer texture to their pina colada. The addition of dairy in the cocktail also rounds out the alcohol, he said, meaning that you can use a higher-octane alcohol and still have a balanced drink.

“Texture in cocktails often comes down to viscosity and how dense something feels on your palate,” said Saxon, who has been experimenting with olive oils. “When you shake it, the oil breaks up into tiny bubbles that float on the top of the drink. When you drink it, it coats your lips and almost feels like you’re wearing Chapstick.”

In her vodka-based This Side of Paradise, a few drops of Italian lemon olive oil provide an unctuous, refreshing flavor to the cocktail, while the melon helium foam topper offers a tingly sensation. “The addition of the olive oil gives it such a richness of texture that plays well against the flirty bubbles,” she said.

But not all oils are created equal when it comes to cocktails, said Saxon, who recalls the disastrous results when she tried to create a cocktail with truffle oil. “The whole bar smelled like truffles for two days,” she said.

“Texture adds more dimension to cocktails making them more interesting and can help carry flavors,” Vestinos said. But texture needs to be a consideration in presentation and how long the cocktail sits. “If something goes on ice, it probably needs more texture to help it ‘live’ as it continues to get diluted over time. If the drink is up, it will warm up over time and sometimes those textures may be off-putting as the temperature rises.”

Vestinos tackles these issues by letting his test cocktails sit for a while, tasting periodically along the way. The necessary tweaks follow. “The first sip is rarely the same as the last, but it should be just as good and perhaps become more interesting,” he said.

Vestinos incorporates texture into his cocktails by experimenting with bitters, bubbles and aged spirits, which add tannins from the wood. He also pays close attention to the type of sugar he uses — think cane sugar, turbinado, caster sugar, simple syrup or even a liqueur — as each inherently brings a different texture to the cocktail.

Sometimes texture innovation can be found by going backward. When working on crafting the perfect daiquiri for rum-focused Sparrow, Vestinos found his light-bulb moment in a recipe from the late 1800s. Rather than using the more common simple syrup in the three-ingredient drink, caster sugar, a finely ground sugar, was used instead, which reduced the drinks viscosity and let the base spirit shine.

At John’s Food & Wine, sommelier Jonas Bittencourt experiments with various vermouths and simple syrup ratios to add texture. “One of our founding cocktails, John’s Old-Fashioned, features a rich and oily vermouth bianco from Italy plus some in-house simple syrups, which give it a much smoother texture than your average old-fashioned,” he said.

For the Lincoln Park restaurant’s new mint julep, Bittencourt uses a complex white vermouth from Spain and a richer 2-1 mint simple syrup. “It feels rounder and definitely has more weight,” he said. “This unique texture elevates it from a classic slammable drink to a more mellow sipping option.”

“Texture is on the forefront of when I’m creating a cocktail,” said Kelsey Kasper, beverage director-partner of Logan Square’s newly opened Common Decency.

Unique house-made syrups often play a big role in creating texture. Take, for instance, the Centerfold Angel, which is made up of Leblon cachaca, Joseph Cartron Banane liqueur, lime juice, cardamom and angostura bitters and house-made Brazil nut orgeat. “The orgeat makes the drink creamy without being heavy or too overpowering and adds additional depth that you wouldn’t normally get from a regular simple syrup,” Kasper said.

For the Coffee Date cocktail, an interesting take on an espresso martini, Kasper incorporates a house-made date and cacao syrup. “The oils from the date and espresso create a great foam that makes each sip super silky and smooth,” she said. On the rim of the glass, a dried cacao and salt mixture adds some unexpected crunch.

At Maple & Ash, bar manager Mario Flores also utilizes multiple textures in the Gold Coast restaurant’s Second Place Champ cocktail. A riff on a whiskey sour, the drink is made with bourbon, sherry, vermouth and cacao bitters and topped with an egg white foam and sesame seeds. “You get the texture coming from the foam, the cocktail and the crispness of the sesame seeds,” he said. Next up, Flores plans on playing with chile-infused oils.

For home bartenders looking to add some texture to their own creations, Bitterncourt recommends starting with your favorite cocktail and getting creative. Cosmo lovers might want to switch out part of the cranberry juice for strawberry simple syrup, for example. “Always start with what you know,” he said.

Kasper said to start with a shaken egg white or, if preferred, aquafaba, which is the liquid garbanzo beans are canned in. While good when served on top of a cocktail, she also recommends using the foamy mixture in a tall fizz-style drink, which adds extra body.

Saxon recommended that home bartenders be bold but start with small quantities. “Experimentation is the key for most discovery,” she said. “It might be horrible, and you might end up throwing it away like I do all the time, but it’s worth knowing and learning from that experience.”

Lisa Shames is a freelance writer.