The Other Way to Use Foam: Meringue Cocktails

You say egg-white foam, Brock Shephard says “meringue.” The owner of Toronto’s Burger Bar & Tequila Tavern has taken a classic technique for creating cocktail texture and improved it through some modern mixology techniques and a little dose of “why not, eh?” He shares a few tricks below — by the time you’re done reading, there’s no reason you can’t be topping all your drinks with a floater.

The only thing we want in our Manhattan besides the brandied cherry? Brandied-cherry foam.

served raw: let’s talk foams.

Brock Shephard: Cocktail culture is evolving and with the advent of molecular gastronomy, it has spilled over to the bar. You can’t mention foams without also mentioning Ferran Adrià as his cooking style has had a major influence on cocktail culture.

what innovative techniques have been taken from the kitchen to the bar?

Different techniques offer different results, so it depends on what mouth feel you’re try to achieve. Shaking an egg white for a sour cocktail has been around forever, but I prefer to use them for most everything. They’ve got a great texture and are neutral in flavor. Just keep in mind they’re delicate and affected by temperature, so they’ll slowly dissolve into the cocktail as it sits, eventually becoming part of the drink. I like to use the word meringue instead of using the term egg white, it’s something people can relate to, without thinking about “raw” ingredients.

do other foam-making techniques create a more stable end result?

Yes, if you want something to stay as foam, look at modern mixology and the use of siphons charged with N2O. Gelatins, soy lecithin and agar agar can be used in siphons. Gelatin holds well but the mouth-feel isn’t as light as egg whites. Soy lecithin is tricky — it holds certain ingredients better but can add its own flavor which is not always desired. Seaweed-based agar agar is good because it isn’t affected very much by temperature like egg whites. Agar agar can be made into a solid like gelatin, but unlike gelatin doesn’t need to be kept cold to keep its shape. For a home party, you could prepare a canister in advance then top cocktails as they are served.

how are foams used to build flavor components and texture in cocktails?

It is a blank canvas, you can go anywhere with it. My suggestion is to infuse with one’s favorite flavors. Foams are used mostly to top drinks, but you could flavor the foam to compliment or add another level to the cocktail. You could make an entire foam cocktail like a margarita with lemon juice, sugar and egg white in a canister and then add alcohol later, it’s a more novel approach that might not catch on main stream. Foams and airs are really there to enhance a great cocktail, they aren’t so much stand alone. They add another dimension to the drink, either through flavor or texture, bringing classic mixology into a more modern setting.

burger bar specializes in tequila, are you creating any tequila foam cocktails?

We use a meringue on our sours, and on a cocktail called Breakfast of Champs: bacon-infused bourbon with beer syrup, orange juice and lime foam. We cook bacon then cool the liquefied fat to room temperature and add that to bourbon, place it in the fridge and by the time it solidifies, it’s done. You could add the cooked bacon to the alcohol directly as well to intensify the flavor. I came up with the idea of the beer syrup while changing out kegs of beer — a lot of beer was wasted in that process, so I decided to reduce it down with sugar into a syrup. The lime foam we use is lime juice, simple syrup and egg whites. You could use lime, lemon, orange … anything would work.

what unusual or off-roaded flavors work well with foams?

Coconut foam could be placed on a piña colada-inspired drink. Lime is a very versatile flavor. If you added pomegranate liqueur to a foam, you could top a cocktail with that. Egg whites are neutral so you can go anywhere you want with them, perhaps a cherry foam on a Manhattan cocktail. A chartreuse foam might work well in a cocktail. Wine-based foams, like a vermouth foam, may be odd, but I wouldn’t rule anything out. It’s so easy with an egg white, just crack, add flavor and go.

Brock’s Breakfast of Champions

A hand-crafted invention perfect for a morning brunch by Brock Shephard, owner of Burger Bar & Tequila Tavern.

• Bacon-infused bourbon
• Beer syrup
• Orange juice
• Lime juice
• Simple syrup
• 1 egg white

1. Shake first three ingredients over ice, strain into a martini glass.
2. Shake lime juice, simple syrup and an egg white until it creates a foam. Spoon over the top of the cocktail.

Brock’s Margarita Meringue Floater

Top any flavor margarita with a touch of texture courtesy of Brock Shephard, owner of Burger Bar & Tequila Tavern.

• Lemon juice
• Simple syrup
• 1 egg white

1. Shake over ice until it creates a foam. Spoon over the top of your margarita.