Everything To Know About Clarified Cocktails In 2023

Jan 27, 2024

According to Food52, women (see: 17th century baddie Aphra Behn) were at the very forefront of clarified milk punch, the somewhat elusive yet fascinating element that’s used to make clarified cocktails. Popping up exponentially in boutique city bars, it’s time to face what a clarified cocktail *actually* is. Hint: it’s just like your favorite cocktail, except with a science-y twist. If you want in on what all the home bartendersare shakin’ and sippin’ up, read on to learn more.

A clarified cocktail is the result you get from a bartending process called milk-washing.

Simply put, milk-washing is mixing your favorite high-acidity cocktail with full-fat cold milk, which (because science) curdles the milk. The filtered-out curdles absorb the bitterness and the acidic punch (caused by compounds called polyphenols) of the alcoholic mix. Instead, your drink is crisp and clear – literally.

Photo by cottonbro studio / PEXELS

Clarification reduces the, well, alcohol-y taste of cocktails for a more pleasant sipping experience. Sometimes it’s all about balancing out each flavor note in the glass, which is why bartenders love it – aside from its aesthetically-pleasing crystal-clear appearance.

Abandon any expectations for a clarified cocktail to taste like the one you typically order. Clarification can really affect the flavors of spirits, for better or for worse. Lighter notes (like florals) may get lost in the sauce… erm, milk, but can create something magical. There’s still no denying that, asJoanna Carpenter for Food52 put it, clarified cocktails are “significantly boozy.”

Liana Oster, bar director of Nomad Londontold Club Oenologiquethat “there’s something intriguing about looking at a crystal-clear drink knowing that there’s a bank of flavour in there – you can’t tell what’s actually going on inside until you taste it."

Photo by Polina Kovaleva / PEXELS

According to Diageo Bar Academy, there are a few different ways to clarify cocktails, but I’ll present the easiest method here.

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Header photo by Valeria Boltneva / PEXELS

Creative Assistant, Meredith Holser, is B+C's resident food writer, photographer, and TikTok taker. Meredith writes about a range of topics for B+C, but she's adopted food writing in all its many facets for the last year. You can see her work published in Do214, Advocate Magazine, WFAA, and North Texas Daily. Meredith's passion for photography began after sneaking her mom's iPhone to take pictures of flowers on vacation, eventually evolving from a passion to a professional career. Outside of work, you can catch Meredith hiking, trying new recipes, and dreaming about having a yummy little treat.