Would you drink a Bloody Mary cocktail featuring beef jus from the dripping of your last barbeque?
American Brian Bartels is the author of ‘The United States of Cocktails: Recipes, Tales and Traditions from All 50 States' where he takes drinkers on a fascinating bar crawl across the country explaining the history of America’s cocktail and drinking culture.
Along his journey, Brian met Chris Lilly from Big Bob Gibson’s Bar-B-Q in Decatur, Alabama who has been perfecting and producing quintessential barbeque goodness for some time.
"I had the chance to try Chris's barbeque at the Big Apple Barbeque Block Party and I can honestly say it has forever changed me. I compare all barbeques I have eaten since against his majestic mountain top of flavour. Hope you feel the same about his Bloody Mary, featuring beef jus (save the dripping from your next barbeque, or use unsalted beef stock), smoked celery salt and lots of smiles and high fives."
Here are four more barbeque-inspired cocktails to make your next get-together a grilling success:
Salt House Bar Manager, Jay Norris says if Cairns was a cocktail, it would be a Beach Comber – tropical and refreshing with that holiday vibe look:
"Just don’t have too many or you might think you are on vacation and miss work the next day,” he warns. "There is actually a banana leaf inside the glass of this cocktail that is used as decoration to make the drink even more appealing – believe it or not, there have been people who have tried to eat the banana leaf.
"I guess that is what happens when you create cocktails that look like dessert – you don’t want to leave anything on the plate, or in this case, on the glass.”
Garnish the drink with coconut flakes and slightly burn them with a blowtorch for that kissed-with-flame barbeque touch.
Imagine camping by the fire at night, where the edible moss represents the Tallebudgera Valley with hearty and tropical flavours and sipping the tastes of Italy through the Montenegro and Aperol, combined with a world-class rum and orange juice for a good dose of vitamins.
Balboa Italian mixologist, Filippo Corsi says the idea for this cocktail came to him in a dream – served with a miniature fire pit at the table, this is one drink that wouldn’t be out of place at any barbeque.
Recommended by Siblings Kirra because if you drink rum at 11 am on the restaurant deck you’re a pirate, not an alcoholic! Also, it highlights the joy of drinking a rum tiki cocktail, with its complexity, depth of flavour and yet fresh, approachable taste that makes it easy to enjoy and very satisfying.
This is the perfect concoction for a barbeque at the beach after a day spent having fun in the sun!
There’s always an unexpected guest at every barbeque, now you can serve them a drink to go with their appearance!
Teddy’s Enmore mixologist, Daniel Strahand says of this recipe:
"Everyone loves a Spicy Margarita so I encourage them to try this drink. The spice is very upfront but dissipates quickly. It's a more refined elegant take on the classic spicy Margarita. You can still enjoy your barbeque meal without the spice affecting the palate too much, the combination of the agave and acid really makes this approachable.”
