What's The Difference Between Clarified And Infused Cocktails?

From methods to mouthfeel, garnishes to flavors, bartending jargon can intimidate even experienced bar-goers. Roll up with your friends to a cocktail lounge and you may be met with a menu that lists clarified and infused cocktail drinks. Before you give the hardworking bartender your order, we're here to help you navigate common terms in the world of hospitality so that the drink you crave is the one that ends up in your hands.

Bartenders have a tool box of tactics that can help them pour delicious sippers for you to nurse (or gulp, we don't judge). While clarifying cocktails can take out impurities found in booze, infusions can add flavor. Both result in different textures and tastes, so knowing the difference as you browse cocktail names can help you choose from a clarified jungle bird and a gimlet made with basil-infused gin — without having to shyly ask your bestie what is what.

When a bar has clarified cocktails on its menu, know that these recipes have been well planned. A clarified cocktail involves a process by which particles are removed from the drink, resulting in a clean, clear, and aesthetically-pleasing beverage. Bartenders have options when it comes to making drinks like clarified margaritas. Centrifugation, freezing, and quick-gel are all different methods that can be used to remove impurities found in drinks, in addition to milk-washing, a process that can be traced back to the 1700s. 

One of the most well known clarified cocktails is a milk punch. It involves combining brandy, a sweetener, juice, and whole milk to let the mixture curdle in the fridge. The clumpy liquid is strained, and the remaining concoction can be served. Clarifying a drink offers bartenders smoother liquids that can be combined with others for a more impressive finish. In addition to eliminating potentially cloudy or murky visual effects, clarification can also help slow oxidation, extending the overall shelf life without having to sacrifice quality or taste.

Infusing booze with ingredients may be an even older process, as people have added spices and nuts to alcohol since early civilization. This process allows bartenders to express their creativity as they craft original flavor combinations to be used in cocktails. Once ingredients are combined, the original spirit will take on some of the characteristics of whatever ingredients have been added.

Combining alcohol with herbs or roots and letting them mingle can result in a more flavorful outcome — and some pretty unique cocktail creations. While there are different ways to infuse alcohol with flavors from varied ingredients – maceration, sous vide, or nitrogen cavitation, for example — the finished result paves the way to an unexplored world of drink making. Once an alcohol has been infused, the flavored drink can lend unique dimensions to familiar cocktails. Infusing bourbon with dates can elevate an old fashioned, while Nutella-washed rum can help build a hot buttered rum that is difficult to set down. Have fun experimenting with infused concoctions you make at home, without needing to shell out cash at a local lounge.