In cooking, fat equals flavor. And for a while now, we’ve known the same to be true for cocktails.
Fat-washing cocktails — the process of adding a liquid fat to alcohol, letting it sit, and then straining it out — has ranked among the most clever ways to impart savory flavor onto spirits. For almost two decades now, myriad bars around the globe have incorporated the technique into their respective beverage programs, with the inception of the technique being attributed to perfumers, who have long used fat-washing to extract aromas from tricky compounds.
A tiny science lesson for you from “Serious Eats” columnist Kevin Liu: “Alcohol can dissolve both oil soluble and water soluble flavors. That’s because the alcohol molecule has two distinct ends, one of which is polar (water-loving) and the other of which is non-polar (oil-loving).”
This means when you fat-wash liquor, the fat molecules bind to the alcohol molecules and extract the flavors of the fat, ultimately changing the texture of the booze by infusing it with the flavors and aromas of the chosen fat source. In short it’s a subtly smooth way to make your cocktails pop.
But what if you did it with an alcohol-free spirit? That was what Almond bartender Bobby Weissleder was tasked with when looking to improve upon the Bridgehampton eatery’s zero-proof cocktail offerings. For over four years now, Almond’s signature cocktail “The Fat Farmer” (a super dirty vodka martini that utilizes the fat-washing process) has reigned as a favorite amongst patrons, beloved for its bright, briny flavors and silky smooth texture.


Almond bartender Bobby Weissleder has revamped a signature cocktail into a nonalcoholic version using Ritual’s gin alternative. (Photo credit (right) Melanie Osorio, (left) photo courtesy of Ritual )
Swapping out the Sagaponack Farm Distillery’s potato vodka for Ritual’s zero-proof gin, “the process is otherwise the same,” Weissleder says. While the NA spirit is already infused with classic gin-style flavors (juniper berries, coriander, lemongrass, pine), the fat-washing technique lends itself well here, amping up all those zingy yet sophisticated flavors that all martini drinkers know and love.
“The only real difference I’ve noticed is I don’t really achieve a totally solid, thick layer of fat on the top like I do with the boozy one,” he notes, “but you just skim it off, strain it through a cheese cloth a couple times, and you’re good to go.”
Two caveats: don’t over-stir the cocktail, as too much stirring can over-dilute the beverage. “And never shake it,” Weissleder says, noting shaking breaks up the drink’s viscosity from the fat-washing process.
Turns out, whether it’s nonalcoholic or fully leaded, shaking gin bruises it either way.
The Slim Farmer
Ingredients
- 1 750 ml bottle of Ritual Zero Proof Gin Alternative
- 2-3 cloves garlic
- 1 bunch rosemary (about 10 to 15)
- 1 tbsp fennel seed
- 1 bunch fennel fronds (about 10 to 15)
- 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 lemon, zested
- 1 lime, zested
- 1 orange, zested
- 1 tbsp peppercorns
- 1 skewer of blue cheese stuffed olives, for garnish
Directions
- Add all ingredients to a large vessel, like a Cambro or a tupperware container (at least two quarts deep).
- Stir for at least 30 seconds to incorporate all ingredients evenly.
- Cover and allow ingredients to steep together, preferably overnight. A layer of fat will form on the top.
- Strain all the contents through a cheese cloth and store cold for as long as possible, preferably a week.
- To make a cocktail, pour 4 oz of the infused liquid over ice. Slowly stir, taking care to not over-stir the liquid as that can over dilute the drink.
- Strain into a martini glass and garnish with blue cheese stuffed olives. (An alternate method is to simply store the infused NA gin cold for a week and pour directly into the glass.) Enjoy!