CleverRoot

6 0 | t h e c l e v e r r o o t AS THE BEVERAGE WORLD grows smaller, it's clear Islay no longer has a monopoly on smoke as mixologists around the globe increasingly fire up smoky cocktails—single malts and otherwise—where none existed before. While recently dining at the famous Flamingo Room by Tashas ("where African Glamour meets the Arabian Sea") in Dubai, the desert oasis not known for its favorable views on smoking per se, I ordered a Tasha Old Fashioned—the restaurant's take on the Pendennis Club and Waldorf Astoria classic. I was surprised to find that not only was the drink made with sesame seed–infused bourbon, it featured the equally noticeable addition of smoked bitters to "fire up" its character. A few months later on the other side of the world, I found more smoke on Ventura Bou- levard in Sherman Oaks, California. At the American bistro Wood & Water, helmed by Moez Megji and his son Karim, I enjoyed the pre-dinner drama of the Smoke on the Water cocktail made with house vanilla Woodford Reserve bourbon whiskey, smoked ice cubes, flamed rose- mary, and brandied cherries. As a lid was removed from the glass, sweet, spicy, rosemary- scented smoke curled forth as it permeated both the air and the drink. And although no-smoking rules abound across the U.S., if there's a way to beat the odds, you'll find it in Las Vegas. Sure, you can't smoke cigars in Sin City restaurants, but you can smoke cocktails: At Yardbird in The Venetian, for example, the Applewood Smokehouse Bourbon is made by infusing Woodford Reserve with thick applewood smoke in a decanter. COCKTAIL WATCH At Jean Georges Steakhouse at Aria in Las Vegas, a crystal decanter is used to pour a guest's choice of spirit—and smoke. PHOTO: JENN SMUTO Smoke Gets in Your Ice BARTENDERS WORLDWIDE FIND CREATIVE WAYS TO IMPART SMOKINESS IN THEIR COCKTAILS by Richard Carleton Hacker

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