Why Chicken Stock Cocktails Are The Trendy Way To Sip Soup-Infused Drinks

Imagine dicing vegetables that are going to end up in a martini. If that sounds strange, you'll soon get used to it because savory cocktails are now on quite a few bar menus. The martini, a classic two-ingredient cocktail of gin and vermouth, offers the perfect canvas for such liquid savory adventures, with the likes of the once-viral parmesan espresso martini now firmly in the rear-view mirror. The new kids on the block make even the edgy pornstar martini look tame and features everything from soup mirepoix to chicken stock, a dash of olive oil, bone broth, and even seaweed. Whether it's to appease increasingly adventurous and well-traveled palates or just for the shock value to try and get some social media views, cocktails — especially martinis — are taking cues from soups.

Besides the ongoing search for something new and different, these chicken stock cocktails are surprisingly easy to make, though you'll want to pay attention to the balance of ingredients (and keep an open mind). To make a savory cocktail (or "stock-tail" if you will), use the same ingredients as you would in a soup, such as chicken stock, vegetables, and olive oil. Done thoughtfully, the result is a drink that has clean savory and umami notes from the stock and complexity from the added veggies and aromatics. Served chilled, it also has a slightly thicker consistency that readily coats the mouth, allowing you to enjoy the lingering flavors better. You won't need a bar snack with these chicken stock cocktails.

There are a few steps that go into building a cocktail with hints of chicken soup, but most are fairly easy (if a bit time-consuming). While a martini is one of the easier cocktails to modify, these flavor-transplanting methods can be used with other alcohols and a wide variety of savory dishes. The first and most common step is infusion. In this case, a vegetable mirepoix made of diced onions, carrots, and celery, a common base for many dishes, is steeped in either gin or vodka for a few days, then strained to produce veggie-flavored liquor. 

To then give it a touch of olive oil earthiness, step into the rich, flavorful world of fat washed cocktails. Simply add some olive oil to the infused liquor, blitz it in a blender, and then freeze. Once you've skimmed off the solidified olive oil, you now have a liquor that holds many flavor elements of chicken soup. 

The final step is relatively easy. Much like making a dirty martini, tinge your infused creation with a flavored, briny liquid. In this case, oversalted chicken stock is useful; you can adjust the quantity depending on how "meaty" you want the cocktail. To avoid over-dilution, cook down and thicken the stock to concentrate its flavors. For an cheekier spin on soup-infused drinks, make ice cubes out of the thickened chicken stock and add them to the glass before serving. The taste will evolve as the cubes melt, adding extra savory flavor over time.