Why Bone Broth Is An Unsung Cocktail Hero

Cocktails have evolved pretty dramatically in the past couple decades, with unusual ingredients being incorporated, even in serious craft mixed drinks. From fat-washed spirits to the sweet sippers that feature the popular purple yam ube, you're likely to find just about anything in a well-made cocktail these days. Despite this virtual cornucopia of options, there's an ingredient that's been showing up on bar menus and online fairly consistently, but still somehow seems a bit under the radar: bone broth. While it may seem like a challenging ingredient for a cocktail, it's been a thing for bartenders and TikTokers for some time now and shows no signs of slowing down.

Bone broth may seem an unusual cocktail ingredient. It's essentially a thin, unseasoned soup usually made by simmering roasted animal bone in water for several hours. Broth is similar to, but distinct from stock, which is generally thicker and seasoned. In the past decade or so, bone broth has seen a huge rise in popularity, particularly with fans of keto and paleo-style diets. As a cocktail mixer, the meaty, umami liquid might be unexpected, but it's not unprecedented: Worcestershire is a core ingredient in a classic bloody Mary, and miso paste also gets incorporated by bartenders in specialty drinks. As a bonus, you can adjust the viscosity of bone broth by adding gelatin-rich knucklebones, allowing different levels of roundness or mouthfeel in your drink. You can't get that sort of fine tuning from a cola.

By the mid-2010s, hot Brodo (Italian for broth) became a popular beverage in New York and elsewhere, rather than simply a cooking ingredient. So, it was a given it would show up in cocktails. The rich, flavorful liquid quickly found its way onto drink menus from Dallas to San Francisco. But they weren't the first broth-influenced cocktails. That honor might belong to the bullshot, created in 1951. The bloody Mary alternative initially incorporated Campbell's beef broth with vodka and Worcestershire sauce (no tomato juice), but has since been upgraded and modified, replacing canned broth with fresh or au jus. Another version is the bloody bull, where beef broth is added to a bloody Mary.

Don't stop there. The umami nature of broth plays nicely against the bitter notes of amaro liquors or a dry sherry. Midnight Rambler in Dallas offers the Pho-King Champ (vodka, oloroso sherry, lime, and pho broth). And chicken stock works in a smoky mezcal-based cocktail. There's even a style of mezcal, called pechuga, where raw chicken is incorporated during distillation. When incorporating broth into a drink, a little goes a long way. A half ounce or less is all you need, and you may want to swap out any water or other non-booze liquid for the stock to avoid over-dilution. You can also use a thick, gelatin-rich stock in place of milk or cream, if you're avoiding dairy, since it provides the viscosity and rich flavor.