Infusion vs Blend

Which method delivers the right combination of sweet onion cucumberiness

I usually don’t promise post timing because I don’t like breaking promises, so my most sincere apologies for being a day late on this. I’m sure you all were very cut up about it.

As promised, I tested a ~24 hour infusion of onion-cucumber syrup against a blend of the same ingredients at the same ratio to see which would provide the right mix of sweet and savory.

And the results frankly surprised me, so let’s get into it.

The Infusion

I half-joked about making onion syrup, but this is onion syrup. Kind of like if you caramelized a ton of shallots long enough to be able to strain out the “natural” syrup, but also if that syrup retained the spicy bite that the shallots started with. And also it’s much easier to make than that hypothetical thing that can’t really exist. I love infusions for their ease of creation…

After a few tastes, you start to get to the cucumber. It’s at the back, kind of hiding, but it’s definitely there. Hard to tell if it’s not coming through stronger because of the sugar or because of the onion.

It’s tasty, it’s fairly balanced, and it’s super interesting. It would be a fantastic fine dining-style ingredient to finish off something more delicate. But can it do the same in a cocktail?

The Blend

This is more intense to make, for sure. Which is part of the reason I didn’t want to do it. But the result is so different that I’m glad I did.

In direct opposition to the infusion, the cucumber is loud and proud at the front here. It’s not until the finish that the onion bite comes through, but even then it’s not as strong this time.

That leads to the perception of quite a lot of depth; a sweet, vegetive palate that gives way to a bitey finish. And the overall experience is quite a bit less sweet on the whole.

I don’t see this one in fine dining, though I suppose with less sugar there could be some kind of serving sauce use case. Does that make it a better cocktail fit?

Winner: The Blend!

Yes, I think it does. There’s more going on here, the cucumber profile is important for the drink as a whole, and I think it’s going to play more nicely with the other flavors.

So tomorrow, I’ll spend my evening juicing limes and blending syrup to prep Saturday’s bar. Then I’m going to try to get some fun photos and actual reviews there to publish early next week!