The Tongue-Tingling Peppercorns That Can Amp Up Cocktails

The world of cocktails is incredibly vast and can be as simple or complex as you'd like. While some people prefer sticking to cocktails that are easy to make and fancy to drink, others are constantly seeking new and complex ingredients to add to their favorite alcoholic beverages, making them even better. Well, one of the very best of these inclusions is none other than Szechuan peppercorns, an ingredient known for its sharp flavor and ability to make your tongue tingle when you taste it. The Takeout spoke exclusively with Co-owner and Beverage Director of Darling, Brian Callahan, who shared how he makes Szechuan peppercorn into the ideal add-on for cocktails. 

"I like to use a tincture for this," Callahan explains, "I sous vide them in grain alcohol at 150 degrees Fahrenheit for 6–12 hours, depending on the intensity I'm looking for." The tincture method — which creates a concentrated version of a herb or spice by soaking it in alcohol – gives you the perfect liquified form of Szechuan peppercorn to put in your cocktails. While Szechuan peppercorns (which aren't the same thing as Szechuan peppers) may sound like a strange choice for cocktails, they can actually be a massive difference-maker for some of the most popular drinks.

Now that you know the proper form of Szechuan peppercorn to add to cocktails, the real question is how to add the tincture and to what cocktails. To determine that, we must examine the unique taste that the mix-in brings to the equation. "It adds a very unique heat," Callahan shares, "not spicy, but warming and aromatic. It's kind of elusive and adds a subtle complexity." With this in mind, cocktails like the Negroni and the Whiskey Sour can benefit greatly from the ingredient's inclusion.

However, not every cocktail can be made better using a Szechuan peppercorn tincture. Mixologist Ryleigh Bouchard explained in an interview with Wine Enthusiast that, because of the ingredient's strong taste, some drinks can be completely overwhelmed by even a small amount of Szechuan peppercorn. "Their potency can easily overpower a drink and clash with softer, sweet, creamy, and delicate coladas or dessert cocktails," Bouchard told Wine Enthusiast. "Too many competing flavors can also drown out the nuanced contribution of Sichuan peppercorns." Thus, it's probably better to leave the Szechuan peppercorn out of the trendy cake-in-a-glass style of cocktails and stick to ones that leave enough room for the spice's unique taste to shine.