Gunner’s Libation: Summer Smoke

Summer’s on its way and that means grilling for many people, so why not try smoking? Steven Raichlen, who wrote “The Barbecue! Bible,” has followed with “Project Smoke,” also the name of a PBS series he hosts that will launch its second season over Memorial Day weekend. The step-by-step book, out this month from Workman Publishing, covers gear, technique, recipes and the science behind the cooking method that Raichlen shows can be used on everything from appetizers to dessert to cocktails. “When you smoke cocktails you are joining two worlds: the cocktail world and the barbecue world. You’re sort of creating barbecue you can drink. I’m not the first guy to come up with this concept. When you think about Scotch whisky, it’s a whisky that’s made with smoked barley, so thousands of years ago people conceived the notion that smoke and booze are a very good combination,” Raichlen says. “Mezcal is another classic example. I know this summer I’m going to be making a lot of mezcalinis. That’s sort of a cross between a mojito and a margarita. It’s made with muddled mint and cucumber. Mezcal is an agave cactus-based spirit from the Oaxaca region in Mexico. The cactus hearts are smoke-roasted in a pit before distilling so it has a good, smoky flavor. I like to beef that flavor up by adding smoke using a smoking gun to fill up the cocktail in the pitcher.”

LIBATIONS WAS CREATED BY BELOVED ASPEN TIMES PUBLISHER GUNILLA ASHER, WHO DIED JUNE 2, 2014, AFTER A BRAVE BATTLE WITH CANCER. CHEERS — TO GUNNER!