Cocktails That Drink Like a Meal

Enter the savoury drink.

Have you ever been drinking whiskey and thought to yourself, “This is great, but I wish there was a bunch of meat in it?” Yeah, we’ve all been there.

These cocktails involving beef broth, bacon and Worcestershire sauce are here to help. While three of the “universal flavours”—sweet, bitter, and sour—are well represented in the world of cocktails, the other two, salty and umami, are a little harder to find. There’s the olive in the martini of course, but we wanted something that was as satisfying as a steak dinner. Enter the savoury drink.

Anyone can stick a Slim Jim in a glass of vodka, but a good savoury drink requires a careful balancing; take it too far and you have a boozy bowl of chili, too little and you’ll leave the table hungry. “Fat washing,”a method that’s gained popularity in recent years, is a great place to start. Don’t be intimidated by the steps required; the result is a drink with a luscious mouthfeel and a deep meaty flavor.

Bullshot

Meaty drinks might seem like a modern novelty, but the Bullshot is an absolute classic. It’s essentially a bloody mary that forgoes the tomato juice (yuck, vegetables) in favour of beef broth. We all know that eating huge slabs of beef is the key to vigorous health; add a little vodka, accompany this with a morning cigar, and you’ll be a strongman in no time.

Get the Recipe Here: Esquire

Benton’s Old Fashioned

Ah, fat washing. For some, this phrase may elicit disgust, but we see a subtle sensuousness. Forget rose petals; dump a couple of gallons of bacon fat in our bath, light a few candles, and our worries melt away like butter. Seriously though, fat washing has become a popular technique for mixologists all over, but this is the one that started it all.

Get the recipe here: Punch

Michelada

The key here is a little bottle of magic called Tajín, a seasoning mix that’s ubiquitous in Mexico, and is often sprinkled on fruit. (Try a dash or two on a fresh mango and you’ll go full Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally.) This low ABV option is perfect for day drinking, and an excellent way to get your recommended daily allowance of Worcestershire sauce.

Get the Recipe Here: Epicurious

Honourable Mention: The Pickleback

Ah, the pickle. The alchemy that turns a boring cucumber into a hunk of briney gold is the tangy cousin of the distilling process–taking something lame like wheat or a vegetable and making it awesomer. The Pickleback isn’t really a cocktail per se, but chasing a shot of whiskey with a shot of pickle juice is too delicious to leave out of this list altogether. Pickle Rick approves.

Get the Recipe Here: The Spruce Eats