In the general scheme of things, “texture” is a word that’s easy to define. We can physically feel it through touch and recognize it when eating. But when it comes to cocktails, texture can be trickier to grasp.
Or that’s what I thought before I heard Machine Hospitality Group Beverage Director Aneka Saxon talk about her drinks at the group’s newest venture, Dearly Beloved. Cocktail after cocktail, texture was a word that came up often and, even better, was something I could identify when tasting her drinks. “When I started in this industry, it was first learning about the balance of acidity, sweetness and the spirit,” Saxon said.
Exploring aroma and how you can taste one thing and smell something totally different was next on her education list. That evolved into “how does this drink actually feel while I’m drinking it.” Her answer? “It’s shown me that to take a drink from average to exceptional can often be down to texture.
” While for most of us on the guest side of the bar, texture isn’t something we think about when it comes to the cocktails we are drinking, it’s often top of mind for those who are making them. “Texture is one of the first things I think about after I decide the style of the drink — rocks, tall, up, long — and figure out what the drink wants to be,” said Peter Vestinos of Bisous and Sparrow. “It is also the last thing I go back to when tweaking a cocktail.
We don’t talk it about it, but it’s something we do.” .