By Adam Erace
When bartender Lauren Corriveau of New York City’s Nitecap crafts a new cocktail, she starts by taking inventory of her equipment: shaker, spoon, strainer, immersion circulator. “Sous vide is one of the most important tools in our development process,” she says. “The rapid, temperature-controlled extraction of different ingredients into spirits allows for more depth of flavor, and in turn these flavors help produce more complex cocktails for our guests in ways that are impossible with other methods of infusion.” Here are a few sous vide cocktails to try making at home, from Corriveau and other talented bartenders across the country.
CHARRED MAPLE WOOD TIPPERARY
Barrel-aged cocktails are huge right now—but also require a significant time investment before they’re ready for drinking. Colin Carroll, of Portland’s Trifecta, takes a clever shortcut by infusing spirits with charred wood in his immersion circulator.
CARMEN MIRANDA
Banana bourbon made with an immersion circulator gives a tropical backbone to this straightforward cocktail at DC’s avant-garde spot Barmini.
BOOGIE WONDERLAND
Lauren Corriveau’s effervescent riff on red sangria stars the French aperitif Maurin Quina, infused via sous vide with cacao nibs.
This article originally appeared in Sous-Vide magazine’s Spring/Summer 2017 issue.
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