The Takeout: Smoky Cocktails You Can Make With Any Grill

“When I have nothing else to do, I spend nearly an hour in the late afternoon setting up my grill, heating the charcoal, and cleaning and oiling the grill grate. And to ensure that all aspects of the grilling experience are well lubricated, I’ve experimented with cocktail syrups made from smoked fruits and vegetables. Here are the best recipes I’ve stumbled on so far. They can be recreated on a charcoal or gas grill, or with an actual smoker, if you have one. These are simple recipes, but there are a few things you need to know about smoking before diving in:

• The smoke from most wood doesn’t create an appetizing flavor for food, so it’s easiest to buy a bag of wood chips, chunks, or sawdust specifically intended for smoking from wherever you buy charcoal or other grilling supplies. The bags usually include descriptions of the intensity of the smoke flavor. If you live near an orchard you can probably ask to purchase chunks of peach, pear, apple, or cherry woods at a low cost. Additionally, you can add herbs, citrus peels, and tea leaves to your wood for a more complex flavor if you wish.
• When it comes to smoking any food, you want to avoid positioning the food too close to the smoke source and creating bitter, inedible food. When you place your food on the grill or in the smoker, keep it as far from the smoke source as possible. Your food should not be engulfed in smoke; instead, it should occupy the same chamber as the smoke and nothing more.
• If you’re using a gas grill, you can use a smoker box, or if you don’t have one of those, you can fashion an aluminum foil pouch and place a small handful of chips inside, poking holes in the foil to allow smoke to flow. Then place this envelope to the side of a burner, close enough to smolder. Here’s an article that describes how to make a foil smoking pouch with more detail.”… for a full list of cocktail recipes, and more, click here.