How To Use Herbs

Herbs are used everyday in kitchens around the world, but most people don’t know they are also used behind bars.  Herbs have always played a big role in the spirits industry because many classic liquors are infused with herbs, roots, flowers, barks, etc.  There are thousands of herbs that all vary physically, with their aroma, texture, taste and from region to region. Herbs adapt to their environment and evolve to become unique to that region. Terroir is a big factor in how we develop our taste for herbs, spices and fruits from certain regions.  Terroir makes all the difference when producing a great Tequila like Partida. 

Understanding herbs and their slight differences from each other is very important because it will change the flavor of your dish or your cocktail.  It can balance the final product, or it can throw it completely off balance.  There are many different ways of extracting flavors from herbs such as muddling, pureeing, boiling, infusing or bruising.  We can use different methods when we create cocktails, but we want to keep in mind the strength, flavor and aroma of the herb.  For instance, if we want a strong flavor with more bitterness, we muddle the herbs to extract the oils and scents.  If we want to dilute the flavor of the herb, we can puree which will remove most of the oils, flavor, color, aroma and complexity leaving only a slight bitterness.  Bruising is great if you are just trying to give a hint of that herbal scent or to help enhance certain flavors to make it a bit more complex.  By using any of these methods, you can achieve many different levels of flavor and aroma, depending on how much of the herb you are using. Herbs are very versatile and we have to keep this in mind when using them in a cocktail. 

terroir – the soil, climate, human factor and everything that surrounds a specific area making each product/ingredient unique and different from one another.
bruising – putting the herbs in the shaker and the ice will bruise the herbs and infuse the cocktail with a delicate flavor and aroma.

Salud – Junior Merino