Smoked cocktails on the grill. So much yes. If you’ve got a Big Green Egg or a Traeger, you’ve already got a grill and smoker in one, but never fear, if you’ve got a gas grill you’re also in luck, you’ll just need a smoker box and some wood smoking chips (for these drinks we recommend hickory smoking chips) and you’ll be set. 

You can smoke anything, but we’re here to talk about smoked cocktails – the perfect addition to any barbecue, though we’re just in time for Memorial Day, so let’s get smoking. 

Certainly the indoor smoker boxes have a certain cool factor, but when you’re smoking on the grill, you can smoke the actual ingredients, not just the alcohol. Be prepared to amaze your friends.   

TEMPERATURE AND SETTINGS FOR SMOKED COCKTAILS ON THE GRILL

Big Green Egg: Set the EGG for indirect cooking with a conveggtor at 250°F with the flavored smoking chips of your choice.

Traeger, their experts recommend temperatures between 165-275℉, though that is for meat, so you can smoke your drink ingredients at the low end of that. 

Gas grill, get your chips and smoker box ready. Light one end of your grill to a low heat like above, put your smoker box on top of the flame and place the ingredients you want smoked on the other side of your grill away from the flame. 

5 SMOKED COCKTAILS ON THE GRILL

1. Smoked Bloody Maria or Bloody Mary

Smoke tomatoes, peppers, and celery on the Big Green Egg for a few hours until they are charred. Make your own mix by blending them with Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, lemon juice and salt. Add tequila or vodka to taste. 

Homemade Bloody Mary Mix

(Makes 8 servings)

• About 7 medium tomatoes
• 2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon celery salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 tablespoon horseradish (optional)

2. Spicy smoked Rum Punch

Smoke pineapple chunks and jalapeno on the Big Green Egg until they are caramelized. Mix the smoked pineapple and jalapeno with rum, lime juice, simple syrup and club soda to create a sweet and spicy cocktail.

3. Smoked Margarita

Smoke grapefruit and lime halves on the Big Green Egg until they are charred. Juice the citrus and mix with tequila, fresh lime juice and agave nectar.

4. Smoked Old Fashioned

This might be our favorite smoked cocktail for the grill, call us old-fashioned (see what we did there?) but it’s just such a classy drink, made even more complex by the smoke flavor. Make an orange simple syrup on the stove first. When your smoker is ready, place a rimmed baking sheet on your grill/smoker and pour in your simple syrup. Smoke for a couple of hours at 175℉. Mix your smoked simple syrup with bourbon or rye whiskey, bitters and ice to create a classic cocktail with a smoky twist.

Orange Simple Syrup

• 1 cup orange juice fresh squeezed
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 3-inch strips orange peel pith removed

Place all of the ingredients in a small saucepan, stir to combine. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.

4.5. A variation: Smoked Cherry Old Fashioned

Because if a smoked old fashioned is a great idea, and the cherry is half of what makes an old fashioned fun, why not smoke the cherry too?

Smoked Cherries

Equipment
Big Green Egg Disposable Drip Pan
Big Green Egg Oak Smoking Chips

Ingredients

• 1 cup fresh cherries, pitted
• Orange peel
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 3 tbsp water
• Splash of the whiskey of your choice

Instructions

Set the EGG for indirect cooking with a conveggtor at 250°F with Big Green Egg Oak Smoking Chips.

Using a Big Green Egg Disposable Drip Pan, combine the pitted cherries, orange twist, sugar, and water and place on the EGG. Smoke for about 25 minutes. Stir and add in a splash of whiskey. Smoke for another 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Assembly

• 2 oz whiskey of your choice
• 1 bar spoon of simple syrup
• 2 dashes of Angostura bitter
• Ice cubes
• Smoked cherries

We’re excited to hear what smoked cocktails you make on the grill. Tag us @hassettacehardware.