It can be all too easy to turn our nose up at unusual flavour combinations.
And TikTok’s latest viral cocktail is probably one that will make you wince at first.
The controversial drink in question? An espresso martini topped with parmesan cheese.
But before you recoil in horror, bartender and drinks writer Tyler Zielinski stresses the importance of not judging a book by its cover and that, actually, when you deconstruct the components of this cocktail, it makes a lot of sense.
He’s also done the hard work for us by road testing the drink himself – and has been pleasantly surprised by the result.
Tyler tells Metro.co.uk: ‘If you know anything about balancing flavour, bitterness with salt and umami balance each other out. So when I first saw the trend popping up on Instagram, it piqued my interest. I thought it was bizarre, but it should technically work from a flavour perspective.
‘Right now, the drink is booming and it ties into the trend of people wanting things that are delicious but are approachable and fun – and sometimes a little cheeky. I think the parm espresso martini is that.’
Tyler stresses that the combination is not as unusual as you might think.
He adds: ‘In a lot of cultures, say for example Latin America, coffee and cheese is quite a common pairing. We see it in Italy as well – you see tiramisu with mascarpone and espresso. So these are examples of the ingredients being paired together.
‘So when you think of it from that perspective, it’s not as bizarre and strange as it initially comes off to be.
‘It’s also really not bad. It’s not the best drink in the world, but it will pleasantly surprise people when they have their first sip.’
However, Tyler stresses there is one crucial element to making this particular version of the classic cocktail.
He explains: ‘The key to actually making this cocktail semi-enjoyable and not disgusting is finally shaving the parmesan, as opposed to big chunks of it.
‘So if you have a cheese grater that only does really large shavings, or shreds, that won’t be good, textually – it almost needs to melt into the drink and be really fine.
‘I do think it will polarise people – they’ll either love it or hate it – but it’s definitely worth a try.’
Could this possibly be the marmite of the drinks world? Only time will tell.
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