Let’s say you’d like to add a rounder,  silkier mouthfeel to your stirred cocktails,  

like the Old Fashioned or a Martini. Clarifying with milk is a great way to  

do that. But you need the milk to curdle,  so you also add acidity. And citrus juice  

can add a flavor you might not want. That can now be a thing of the past,  

thanks to the powdered milk punch technique. Today we’ll go over two different ways of using  

this new clarifying technique, to show  you how you can make two mind-blowing,  

but also very different Old Fashioned  cocktails, including a vegan-friendly  

Pina-Colada-inspired Rum Old Fashioned. If you’ll reach the bottom of the  

glass we’ll check out the history of  powdered milk, so stick around for that. 

Now it’s time to learn, experiment, and  enjoy something a little different.

In short, it’s Cocktail Time.

So to set the scene for what  we’re doing today, and why.

As mentioned in the intro,  

Clarified Milk Punch uses milk’s proteins to add  a luxurious, velvety texture to the cocktail,  

while the acidity in the cocktail curdles the  milk, making it possible to strain out all of  

the solids, which also clarifies the cocktail and  removes the tannins, resulting in a rounded and  

rich drink without the heaviness of the dairy. This is far from being a modern technique - Milk  

punches date back to the 1700s, in the era before  refrigeration, as it creates a stable drink that  

could be stored for long periods of time. But then Daniel Villa, a bartender working  

in Charlotte, North Carolina, realized he could  hack the age old technique by using powdered milk.  

I’ll let him explain it. -Thanks, Kevin. 

So the fun thing about this powdered  milk approach is that in the processing  

of dehydrating the milk it's already been broken down into curds essentially once,

so even when you rehydrate it it's never fully stabilized again. In this way

we don't have to use any citrus at all to break it again, it just takes time

and a little encouragement. That's where the salt comes into play in the recipe

and this little bit of heating, aside from that spirit is enough to do it.

The other great advantage about  this particular method is you can play around

with your milk source, you don't have to use dairy milk. Coconut works as well and I'm sure

that you can find other dehydrated milks out there with which this approach would work.

And the last advantage of it is that this process gives you the option to toast your milk powders

and impart a really nice nutty, buttery flavor into your final cocktail

that'll just make it a little bit smoother and rounder.

So uh just have fun with it and I can't wait to see what you do.

Thanks Daniel. That was great. Now for the first cocktail,  

a toasted milk powder Old Fashioned. And for the second one, we’ll rehydrate the powder  

with something other than just water, which is  another fun way to add flavor with this technique. 

We’ll first make a small batch of both  cocktails, then try them both together. 

With the toasted milk powder I’ll make a whiskey  old fashioned using Four Roses Small Batch Bourbon  

as the base. This Kentucky Straight Bourbon sits  at 45% ABV, or 90 proof, it’s made with a small  

selection of bourbon whiskies that have been  aged between 6 and 7 years. Its rich buttery and  

honeyed taste with popcorn notes will work great  with what we’re doing with this powdered milk. 

Before we rehydrate it I’ll toast this  40 grams of powdered milk in an oven.  

To do that spread the powdered milk evenly on a  baking sheet. I’ve gotten the best results when  

I had the oven set to 110 °C or 230 °F, and  let it toast for about 5-10 minutes. Higher  

temperatures can burn or brown the powder too  quickly. Once the powdered milk is toasted,  

it might be a bit uneven, with darker edges.  That's okay because we’ll mix it all with water  

and it will taste great, with a nice caramel  aroma and flavor added to the powdered milk. 

For that I’ll boil 280g of water and add our  toasted powdered milk. And since powdered milks  

can vary I’d suggest you follow the instructions  on the packaging, like I did with this one. 

Whisk well for about half a  minute, then set this aside. 

Now that we have our re-hydrated and toasted  milk we can build our Whiskey Old Fashioned. 

Start with 8 oz or 240 ml of Four  Roses Small Batch. Four Roses also  

offers their classic bourbon, a single  barrel version and a small batch select. 

Something that will pair nicely with  the Small Batch Bourbon is Maple Syrup.  

I’m adding 1 oz or 30 ml. And rinsing it  out means you really get the full ounce. 

Next, Angostura bitters. 6 dashes from their  regular bottle or 12 dashes from a smaller  

dasher bottle. And as always, to enhance all  the flavors and to get the most out of our  

toasted milk punch, 8 drops of saline solution. Mix everything before we pour it over the still  

hot toasted milk. We need 3 oz or 90 ml of milk  for the amount of cocktail we made.  

Cocktail over the milk and once nicely mixed let it sit for 10 minutes.

The curds will start forming quite quickly, just as if we added citrus to this  cocktail.

After that passes I’ll strain it through a coffee filter.

As the curds form an additional filter you can strain the liquid through again,  

until you end up with a clear result. Once this will be strained you’re ready  

to serve it over ice, but let’s first  get the second cocktail ready as well. 

In this one we’re combining two interesting  variations to this technique. First we’re  

using a vegan-friendly coconut milk, but we’re  also spicing things up with a pineapple tea made  

from pineapple scraps, namely, the peels. So  start by peeling half of a pineapple. We don’t  

need pineapple juice today, but check out the  cryo-conentration episode if you want the sweetest  

pineapple juice, even if your pineapple isn’t  super ripe. We need 200g of peels for our tea. 

As for the leaves, pluck some nice  ones that can be used for garnish. You  

can save them in the freezer for future use. Now let’s bring 600g of water to a boil. Then  

throw in the pineapple peels, cover and continue  to simmer on low heat for 5 minutes. After that,  

strain out the peels and let’s use this zero-waste  pineapple tea to rehydrate the powdered coconut  

milk. We’ll need 15g of coconut powder and 200g  of pineapple tea. This is slightly less than  

with the first one, because when testing those  amounts I got a thicker mixture that filtered  

for a really long time, and there was too much  coconut flavor, overpowering the pineapple. 

When that’s fully mixed and dissolved I’ll  also make a 2:1 syrup with the remaining  

pineapple tea. I’m using 150g of pineapple  tea, leaving a little bit just in case I’d  

need to rehydrate some more coconut milk. Then  add 300g of sugar and dissolve. Heating it  

slightly will make that easier of course. Then  bottle and label this syrup that can also work  

great in a Daiquiri or many Tiki cocktails. Now that this is all ready it’s time to make  

the second cocktail, the Pina Colada Milk Punch  Rum Old Fashioned. Simple. Again start with 8 oz  

or 240 mL, this time La Hechicera Reserva Familiar  rum. We’re using the same amount of base spirit as  

before and also the same amount of syrup, but this  time it’s the pineapple tea rich syrup. 1 oz or  

30 mL. You can rinse it out to get all the syrup. For bitters I’m using homemade chocolate bitters,  

but Angostura’s Cocoa bitters are a great option  too. I’m adding 12 dashes. And same as before,  

8 drops of 20% saline solution. The following  procedure is the same as before as well. Once all  

ingredients are mixed you’ll pour them over 3 oz  or 90 mL of still hot coconut & pineapple milk. It  

will curdle, slightly less than before, but I’ll  still let it sit for 10 minutes. After that it’s  

time to filter, again through a coffee filter.  The filtration process will be longer here,  

but be patient and make sure you’re getting as  clear of a result as possible, by re-filtering  

the first part. Then just give it time. Now, when both of the cocktails are  

strained we can get chilled glasses  and some ice, and just pour and serve  

our citrus-less milk punch Old Fashioneds. When fully strained we should have enough  

for 4 servings each, but you can easily  multiply the amounts to make a bigger  

batch and bottle it for future use. I’m using low tumbler glasses for both,  

with a tempered ice block in each. Pour out 2.5 oz or 75 ml of each cocktail

into the glasses before stirring and adding the garnish.

This is a great opportunity to practice a little dexterity with the double stir.

For the Whiskey Old Fashioned I’m expressing

essential oils from an orange peel  over the top and adding it on the ice. 

For the pina-colada rum old fashioned I’m  adding a small, elegant sized pineapple  

leaf. Doesn’t get any simpler. Let’s give them a try, starting  

with the whiskey and toasted milk version. Aromas reminiscent of a classic Old Fashioned with  

strong orange notes. On the palate, it transforms  into a smoother version, where the bourbon’s  

aromatics blend well with the caramel-buttery  milk. The curdling process enhances the cocktail's  

character, and in my opinion, even improves it. For our rum, pineapple and coconut-milk version  

we get a slightly murky Old Fashioned, probably  due to the fats in coconut milk. On the aroma,  

rum and coconut dominate. The cocktail  maintains its full-bodied character with  

exciting tropical notes. Not quite a piña  colada, but it's tropical, nutty, and rich! 

With that we’ve made it to the bottom of  the glass of milk. Post that emoji in the  

comments if you’ve made it this far. 🥛 For a few fun facts about the history of  

powdered milk we need to go back all  the way to the time of Marco Polo. 

He wrote about Mongolian Tatar troops who carried  sun-dried skimmed milk as "a kind of paste". 

But the first modern production process for  dried milk was invented by a Russian doctor,  

Osip Krichevsky in 1802, with his compatriot,  chemist M. Dirchoff organizing the first  

commercial production of dried milk in 1832. And now, some 190 years later, we’re using it  

to make better milk punches. Evolution. Alongside milk punches you can also use  

it in cooking, baking and even tea or  coffee to add richness and creaminess. 

For another fun dairy ingredient for your  cocktails check out this Milk Syrup, to add  

a bit of froth, without using egg whites. I’ll  see you next week. Cheers, Friends of Cocktails.