Cocktails with Salt
Salt is a mineral seasoning that adds saltiness and heightens other flavors.
How it's used
A few grains suppress bitterness and lift sweetness without tasting of salt, the same trick as in cooking. If the glass already has a salt rim, half a pinch in the drink is enough. On a rim, salt is texture as well as flavor, and the first sip meets it before the drink.
Substitutes for Salt
In a cold drink, this is the easiest form: 20 g of salt in 80 g of water. Start with 2 to 4 drops and taste.
Fine salt
Any kind works pinch for pinch.
Kosher or flaky salt
By the spoon, kosher salt is lighter: the same spoon can hold half as much salt, so add more and taste. Flaky salt is slow to dissolve, but works as is for a rim.
Storage
Salt does not spoil. Fine salt cakes in damp air and iodized salt carries a faint metallic note some people catch in a clear drink — keep a plain sea salt for the bar.
