How A Milk Frother Can Completely Elevate The Taste Of Tequila

Wine and whiskey fans have long sung the praises of aerating, the process of exposing the drink to oxygen to give it a smooth, mellow flavor. Traditionally, this involved pouring the drink through an aerator, into a decanter, or simply letting it sit in a glass, but lately, higher-tech tools have been causing quite the stir. The best part? You might already have these tools in your kitchen.

The process of "hyper-aerating" wine caught the internet's attention when Connor Roy of HBO's "Succession" used a blender to age a bottle's contents, according to him, "five years in ten seconds." And whether it began as a joke or not, it has inspired scores of videos and blog posts where people have praised or derided the practice. But blenders aren't the only unexpected aerating gadget making the rounds on socials. Enterprising internet denizens have been taking handheld milk frothers to glasses of tequila, with impressive results. 

"Froth up some of your favorite spirits and it just hits your palate so much better," TikToker @drinkwithwayne explained over a whipped glass of Fortaleza Still. "You let out some of the ethanol — everything just kind of opens up." Other TikTokers agreed. "This is 100 times smoother than the original," @timthetankofficial declared after frothing a glass of Patrón Siver. "You guys have to try this out." The trick works on cheaper tequilas, too: after doing a side-by-side taste test, @nicoleeanne6 gave a whipped glass of Trader Joe's Tequila a "10/10."

But you don't always need to froth your tequila. For example, skip the milk frother if you're making margaritas because the process of shaking the cocktail already helps aerate it. The technique might work better on some tequilas than others, too, since different types of alcohol respond differently to aeration. While younger, bolder red wines benefit from a little extra air, many white wines and older red wines, which have had plenty of time to develop, don't. That doesn't mean that aged liquors necessarily require less aeration, though — older whiskeys actually require more. Sometimes, aeration can even make your drink taste worse. Ever heard that martinis are actually best stirred, not shaken? That's because gin and aeration don't mix. 

While tequila does typically benefit from aeration, you might not want to take a milk frother to an entire bottle of your best tequila just yet. Instead, consider testing out different types. Compare across brands or froth glasses for different lengths of time. Let your own personal tastes and preferences lead the way, or use it as an excuse to get your friends together for a tequila tasting and vote on your favorite method. Most of all, experiment; an inquisitive attitude is how ideas like this are born.