Creamy, frothy, and potentially packed with flavor; cocktail foam is becoming a great way to make unique cocktails. It’s easier than you think to make and using cocktail foam will elevate your standard recipe to a serious showstopper.
I think everyone remembers how they first reacted to hearing about drinking a raw egg. It’s ok, you didn’t know, we all didn’t know. But in spite of how bad it sounds, adding an egg to a drink can give it a richness and body that wasn’t there before. In fact, there are many ways to make Cocktail Foam that don’t include egg.
You should get familiar with the basics first. Check out Cocktail 101: A Beginners Guide to Home Bartending to get you started with the core mechanics. Then swing back around and get foamy with us.
In this article, we are going to start by briefly going over how foams are made and the tools you can use to make them. Then into the basics of creating foams using different ingredients and the techniques to do it. So who’s ready to get foamy?
Add just one of these to any cocktail to create perfectly printable foam:Fresh egg white (not egg replacer) (Some of the recipes do not need eggs)Chickpea water, aka: aquafaba (vegan option)Foam agents (such as Ms. Better’s Bitters or Wonderfoam)Whipping siphon (such as Isi Whipper)
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Fresh egg white (not egg replacer) (Some of the recipes do not need eggs)
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Chickpea water, aka: aquafaba (vegan option)
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Foam agents (such as Ms. Better’s Bitters or Wonderfoam)
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Whipping siphon (such as Isi Whipper)
Ingredients to Grab for Cocktail Foam
Your standard bar setup will have most everything you need, but if you want to go egg-free you will need to buy some specific ingredients. You will need xanthan gum, gelatin, or gum arabic. Powdered egg whites can also be used, but of course, those aren’t vegan.
When it comes to creating cocktail foams, egg foams are the go-to for most bartenders. They are the most common and have a standard technique that many have experience with. To create an egg foam, the typical approach is to add an egg white to a citrus-filled drink and shake it warm. The egg white provides everything needed to stabilize the foam, and shaking it with a cocktail shaker will create the desired result. After that, simply shake the mixture again with ice to chill it. Let’s take the Whisky Sour as an example.
- 1.5 oz Whisky
- 0.5 oz Lemon Juice
- 0.5 oz Simple Syrup
- 1 Egg white
Dry Shake all ingredients to create a stable foam. Longer you shake, more foam you get. After shaking dry, add ice and shake to chill. Pour into a coupe glass and garnish.
Doing a reverse dry shake with a spring has been my go-to method for a while, and I’ve made some lovely cocktails like the Pink Lady and Clover Club with this technique. However, I’ve never been quite happy with it. If you look closely, you’ll see that the foam on these isn’t quite smooth; there are some large bubbles. I’ve tried making bitters art on cocktails like these and it ends up just looking like a big blob.
Then, a few weeks ago, I was at the opening of a new bar Boston. One of their cocktails was made with egg whites, and I saw the bartenders mixing them with handheld milk frothers. The bar manager recommended this $10 Trudeau battery-operated frother, and I bought it. Sure enough, it worked like a charm. I shook my cocktail with ice, strained out the ice, and used the frother to mix it further. You want to bring the frother close to the surface to mix in some air and create foam. If anything, I occasionally frothed the cocktails too much, not an issue I’d ever had with shaking!
Whatever method you choose, I recommend fine-straining the cocktail through a mesh strainer to additionally separate out any larger bubbles. You should have a thick layer of smooth, snow-white foam on top of your drink. And I must say, it is so much fun to garnish. Edible flowers or dried citrus will sit effortlessly on top. Try dropping some bitters on the foam and running a cocktail pick through them to make some artful designs. You can even use a stencil and a spray bottle to create more elaborate art, something I’m looking forward to trying. A lot of bars are also using food-safe printers and rice paper or fondant to make cocktails that really look like works of art.
Many older recipes call for the white of one egg, but today’s eggs are quite a bit larger than they used to be, so it’s better to use about a half ounce of egg white in each cocktail. Whites can be hard to measure out, so I recommend briefly whisking the white to break it apart a bit before pouring it into your jigger.
So, if you’re on board with tossing an egg into your drink, let’s talk about how to do it. To demonstrate, I made a classic whiskey sour: just whiskey, simple syrup, lemon juice, and egg white. The recipe is below.
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FAQ
What do you garnish cocktails with?
What is the foam on top of cocktails?
What is the white stuff on top of cocktails?
What do you put in a cocktail?
They are only placed into the cocktail to make it look good and exciting. It also adds to the overall drinking experience as our eyes are delighted with the garnishes of the cocktail. Typical garnish objects include cocktail umbrellas, sparklers, playing cards, straws, mini bottles, swizzle sticks, and feathers.
What are some healthy drinks to take?
There are several healthy drink options that you can have. Some options include water flavored with fruits and herbs, coconut water, iced tea, iced coffee and natural juice. These drinks are great for maintaining hydration and providing important nutrients to the body.
How do you make a cocktail topped with liquor?
For mixed drinks that are topped with liquor, mix the base drink, then add the top layer. For instance, mix the vodka, orange juice, and ice of a Harvey Wallbanger before floating Galliano on top. Hold a bar spoon upside down over the drink, resting the spoon’s tip on the inner edge of the glass, just above the previous layer.
How do you make a good alcoholic cocktail?
Here are our other favorites for the liquid portion: Avoid juice with lots of pulp. Choose a juice that enhances or complements the inherent flavors of your cocktail. Some options: citrus, apple or pear cider, grape, pineapple, passion, mango. Use a 1:1 syrup-to-water dilution or the syrup will be too viscous and thick.