Is it time to ditch the salt rim? For Max Reis, beverage director at Daisy in Los Angeles, the ubiquitous Margarita garnish may no longer be necessary.
“We use salt in our drinks about as frequently as chefs use it when they cook—so, in almost all of them,” says Reis. In cocktails, salt can amplify flavors and tamper sweeter ingredients. The balance it brings to drinks “allows us to serve them slightly warmer than one might expect, so the spirits express themselves more clearly on the initial sip,” he says.
Daisy takes it a step further by eschewing salt rims—which could vary from Margarita to Margarita—for a more dialed-in approach. At the bar, most drinks get a dose of 20 percent saline solution, and Reis relies on three versions: a classic salt-and-water mix, one made with sal de chapulín, and a Tajín-like chili-and-citrus variation. “Each of these solutions elevates the flavors of the cocktails they’re paired with while adding a subtle layer of seasoning,” he says.
Saline isn’t just for Margaritas. Prepping solutions and other salty ingredients is an easy way to give cocktails complexity. To get started, here are a few to add to your arsenal.
At Brooklyn’s Red Hook Tavern, the Spanish Gibson—a nuanced rosemary-infused take on the classic—is brightened by a lemon saline solution. To make the mixture, the bar simply boils water, salt and two halved lemons together before straining and bottling it. Try it in their Martini or swap it for the classic saline solution in this Cape Codder riff or a dirty Negroni.
At Magnus on Water in Biddeford, Maine, co-owner Brian Catapang calls on sea salt syrup for an added tang in the Microdose, a low-proof watermelon cocktail. The versatile sweetener figures into to many of the bar’s drinks, from a calamansi Daiquiri to a rum Old-Fashioned. The ingredient is easy to remix, too: Magnus on Water also makes a tropical version with pineapple pulp, while Better Luck Tomorrow in Houston salts an avocado- and agave-based syrup for its Avocado Margarita.
For extra umami, consider MSG solution. The ingredient amps up already-savory formats, like a dirty Martini, and brings an edge to fruit-forward drinks like a banana and yuzu Margarita or a soju sour. As Channing Centeno, creator of the MSG Martini, puts it, MSG is “one of those things that makes you want to go back for more.”
At Daisy, some of the batched cocktails, force-carbonated drinks or frozen recipes don’t get saline solution. Instead, other elements of the build, like the tangerine cordial used in the Creamsicle Margarita, are salted and acid-adjusted to ensure a balanced drink. At other bars, salt shows up in raspberry cordial for a Kalimotxo and in cucumber cordial for a shandy-like drink.
A final salty ingredient requires no prep at all. A single drop of soy sauce can act as “seasoning” for drinks to complement sweet and sour flavors and counteract bitterness. In Erick Castro’s Cat’s Paw, one dash of the ingredient plays up the nutty, savory flavor of sesame oil–washed Japanese whisky and ginger liqueur, but soy sauce can also amp up everything from aperitivo-style drinks to tropical cocktails.
Give it a Try:
Amaro Kalimotxo
Two kinds of amaro add a bitter backbone to the simple highball.
Cat’s Paw
Sesame oil and soy sauce up the umami in this Japanese whisky cocktail.
