Use Yogurt In Creamy Cocktails For A Tangy Twist

If you cook often, you may be well-versed in the many recipes that use Greek yogurt as their secret ingredient. After all, yogurt is versatile with a richness, a mild yet slightly tart flavor, and a creamy texture. While you may not have considered adding yogurt to your cocktails before, it's a pairing worth exploring if you want to expand beyond the classic cocktails everyone's tried at least once.

There are many benefits to incorporating yogurt into certain cocktails, including its ability to infuse booze-forward beverages with an unexpectedly tangy taste. Yogurt's flavor pairs nicely with fruit's sweetness, so there's obvious logic for balancing juicier, fruit-forward cocktails — or fruit-infused liquors — with yogurt's innate tartness.

Another advantage of adding yogurt to your cocktails is the fact that it contains lactic acid. Other ingredients that are commonly used to cultivate creaminess in a beverage do little to enhance a drink's acidity (which is important for balancing out the flavor profile), whereas yogurt does double duty. It delivers a thick, creamy texture, and it also creates a mild base to pair with other flavors.

Since yogurt enhances taste and texture, it's no surprise that it's been seen on restaurant menus ranging in tastes from Indian to Mediterranean to contemporary cuisine. Yogurt-infused cocktails have also been popping up on brunch menus, perhaps inspired by the traditional breakfast yogurt-and-fruit pairing, but with an adult twist. For example, we've seen the classic Bramble Cocktail remixed with the addition of yogurt to deliver a thicker, creamier cocktail that nods to a breakfast parfait. Similarly, there's the Slippery When Wet, a gin-infused cocktail that contains fresh strawberries, honey, lemon juice, and yogurt — all ingredients likely to be found at breakfast.

Yogurt also makes its way into more savory cocktails, like the Hazy Jane, served at Tusk restaurant in Portland, Oregon. In addition to vodka, the drink contains yogurt and cucumbers, a perfect complement to the menu's Middle Eastern flavors.

If you're curious about mixing your own yogurt-infused cocktail at home, we advise you to use this creamy ingredient sparingly. Yogurt is rich in flavor and texture, which means a little can go a long way. And if cocktails aren't for you, but yogurt is, there are plenty of other unexpected and exciting ways to use Greek yogurt.