The concept of fast food is as American as apple pie, the designated hitter and reality TV. It’s been proven that Americans don’t have time to sit down and eat and would rather wait in a long line of cars to pick up a dozen burgers and fries to feed their hungry hordes. Brands like Jack in the Box, Burger King, Sonic and McDonalds are deeply rooted in the cultural fabric of America. At fast food restaurants, you can purchase anything from cheeseburgers to ice cream sundaes to chicken nuggets to chili cheese fries. The one thing you can’t buy at fast food restaurants is alcohol-fueled cocktails.
To say that Americans love fast food is a serious understatement. McDonalds has been mass-producing hamburgers since 1940. Burger King has been doing the same since 1953. It seems like a new concept, but Americans haven’t been able to sit still and wait for a home-cooked meal in over seventy years. It’s a lot easier (albeit not remotely as healthy) to swing through a drive-through on the way home from work to pick up a bucket of cheeseburgers than it is to make a meal for an entire from scratch.
If you only order from the value menu at most fast food restaurants, you can feed a family of five for around $15 dollars. But what good does that do when your throat is as dry as a desert from lack of alcohol mixed drink magic?
As much as we love fast food, the lack of alcohol is glaring. Maybe it’s because most people venture to places like Taco Bell and Wendy’s after they have already imbibed a handful of wobbly pops or jungle juice. Lets face it, some fast food is only tolerable after you have had a few alcoholic beverages before hand. But, wouldn’t a Big Mac taste at least a little bit better with a frosty beer or a delicious mixed drink?
What would be a better accompaniment to a spicy chicken sandwich or a handful of French fries than a tasty, refreshing cocktail? Leslie Ross, bar director at Houston’s Treadsack is a fast food visionary. She imagines a world where cocktails are on the menu alongside your deep-fried favorites at a trio of popular fast food chains.
She designed a few cocktails for CraveOnline, using ingredients from popular fast food chains. The process of creating fast food cocktails is pretty much the same as regular cocktails except she reverses the usual process. When designing “regular cocktails”, she use a set formula for the most part. “You start with a base spirit, this is like a foundation, and you spruce it up a bit,” says Ross. Think of it as designing a center piece for a table decoration. The way you would for a fancy cornucopia for Thanksgiving. You wouldn’t just add things randomly. Every piece has to have its particular use and importance in the space. The same goes for the crafting of cocktails. “You start with the table, and then add little things here and there for things like color, texture, even height or length. Too much or too little of any one thing and the cocktail (or table scape) will be off balance.”
In the case of Fast Food Cocktails, you work almost in reverse. You start with the ingredients available like an apple pie, ketchup packet or fruit bowl and decide what spirits, modifiers, acids and fats work well with them to create a tasty, complex cocktail. “The most limiting factors, are in fact the modifiers, so you start there and identify the roles that they will play in your drink.”
- Start with a Base Spirit (Gin, Rum, Whisky etc)…for Maple Bourbon Fizz, Ross started with Medley Brothers Bourbon.
- Determine the modifying spirit (Cordials and Liqueurs)…for the modifying spirit, Ross chose Whataburger Strawberry Milkshake.
- The acid (citrus)…for this, she chose orange juice.
- The fat, sugar, sweet (simple syrup)…for the simple syrups, Ross chose maple syrup.
- The last step is dilution (ice or water). “Now following this very simple outline, swap out the things that fall under those categories,” says Ross.
Whataburger Inspired – Maple Bourbon Fizz
2 oz Medley Bros. Bourbon
4 oz Whataburger Strawberry Milkshake
2 oz Simply OJ
.5 oz Maple Syrup cup
Egg White
Reverse Dry Shake. Strain. Lengthen with Sprite. Use 2 coffee stirs for garnish.
She also designed three other cocktails. One more from Whataburger and one each from Sonic and Chick-Fil-A.
Whataburger Inspired – Fried Pie Cobbler
1.5 oz Paul Marie Fils Pineau des Charentes
1.5 oz Dolin Blanc Vermouth
1/4 Lemon juice packet
The filling of a fried apple pie.
Shake.Strain. Crushed ice. Small Whataburger cup. Garnish with fruit chews on toothpicks and fried pie corner. 2 coffee stir straws
Sonic Mint Julep for 2
1 Small Sweetened Iced Tea
1 Extra Cup
3 Sonic Mints
4 ounces Maker’s Mark 46
Order a small iced tea, which is already sweetened, and an extra cup. Take 3 mints and crush them, putting them in the bottom of the extra cup, then add 4 ounces ( this is for 2 ) of Makers 46 and stir. Now dump the contents of the other cup, ice and all into the cup with the crushed mints, being sure to mound it with plenty of ice. Top with a dusting of crushed Sonic mints once more, and Viola!! Sonic Mint Julep!!
Chick-fil-A Sangria Recipe
1 Chick-fil-A Fruit Bowl
1 Small Chick fil A Lemonade
4 oz Rose Wine
2 oz Kappa Pisco
1 oz Grand Marnier
Remove some fruit for your garnishes, and allow the rest to marinate in the refrigerator, covered, until ready to serve. You can get a second fruit bowl to have as a refill if you are serving guests other than yourself. Don’t be stingy. Share.
