Summer is the perfect time of year to create delicious cocktails to accompany dinners in the backyard. At our house, we cook most of our meals on our Traeger grills, which results in delicious food that has a touch of wood-fired flavor. To go with a backyard meal, we created this smoked strawberry-lime whiskey sour. It uses some early season produce (strawberries), a tasty whiskey, Traeger smoked syrup and results in a drink that would cost a pretty penny at a bar. Give this Traeger smoked strawberry-lime whiskey sour a try!
A SUMMERY TWIST ON AN OLD CLASSIC
A traditional whiskey sour includes lemon juice, sugar and whiskey and is sometimes topped with a foamy float of egg white. We took our inspiration from a whiskey sour and took a strong left turn to mix up the flavors and create something totally different. First step: incorporate using our Traeger in the creation of this drink.
To start, we used our Traeger grill to give the fruit in this drink an additional layer of flavor. Hulled fresh strawberries and halved limes are placed directly on the grates of the grill and smoked briefly in the grill at 225*. In about 15 minutes, the fruit picks up some of the wood-fired flavor of the Traeger and softens and becomes extra juicy because of the heat.
In addition, we used Traeger’s smoked simple syrup as the sugar addition to this drink. Traeger has done much of the work for you– and the result is a tasty simple syrup that is balanced in flavor with the addition of some smoky undertones. This makes the Traeger smoked strawberry-lime whiskey sour have strong and balanced smoky notes.
For the whiskey in this recipe, I picked a whiskey from my cabinet that would stand up well to the additional flavors of strawberry, lime and sugar, but not too fancy of a whiskey that all my whiskey aficionado friends would lose their minds!
In a cocktail shaker, I combined several smoked strawberries and limes along with a dash of simple syrup. Using a muddler, I smashed the fruit together to draw out the juices and mix the flavors. Then I added the whiskey and gave the entire thing a shake.
This cocktail was poured over ice in a short glass and garnished with a little more fruit. Enjoy with your loved one or in the company of friends, and you’ve got an amazing drink to go with your grilled dinner.
SMOKED FRUIT FOR THE STRAWBERRY-LIME WHISKEY SOUR
Smoking fruit is an easy and delicious way to add some flavor to what you’re making. There are lots of ways to incorporate smoked fruit into cocktails, because they’re easy to include in creative drinks and the fruit picks up the flavor from the smoke very efficiently.
We find that if you keep the fruit pretty big, that makes grilling it easiest. For this Traeger smoked strawberry-lime whiskey sour recipe, we cut the limes in half and placed them cut-side down on the grates. Likewise, we kept the strawberries whole and just removed the stems and hulls. These were also placed directly on the grates, which gave them the chance to soak up the wood-fired flavor while also gathering some of the heat from the grill through the grates.
Ensuring that the fruit gets a little warmth draws out the natural juices of the fruit (it can even help soften up slightly underripe fruit like peaches) and the heat carmelizes some of the natural sugars in the flesh. This strengthens the flavors of the fruit overall and amps up the tastiness with the addition of wood-fired smoke.
If you were smoking other, smaller fruit, I recommend putting it on a tray or heat-proof plate in the grill. Like blueberries– they would smoke really well, but easily fall through the grates. Stone fruits hold up really well when smoked or grilled, but you can also smoke fruits like mango, banana and pineapple. Give it a try!
PRIMARY INGREDIENTS
- Strawberries
- Limes
- Traeger smoked simple syrup
- Whiskey
- Ice
WHY USING A TRAEGER FOR THIS SMOKED WHISKEY SOUR WORKS
As mentioned above, smoking fruit gives you the ability to add flavor to whatever dish you’re making, and it compliments grilled meat really well. You could definitely make this cocktail without smoking the fruit first, but we really encourage you to give it a try. The extra time (it only takes 15 minutes!) is totally worth it.
We used our Traeger Timberline XL to smoke this fruit. The grill was set to 225* with the super smoke feature enabled, and we put the fruit in the grill for about 15 minutes. Once it had smoked, we pulled the fruit from the grill and let it cool to room temperature before making the Traeger smoked strawberry-lime whiskey sour drink.
STEP-BY-STEP
- Wash the strawberries and limes.
- Remove the stems and hulls of the strawberries.
- Cut the limes in half and remove any visible seeds.
- Preheat your Traeger grill to 225* and use the super smoke feature.
- Once the grill is hot, place the fruit, cut-side down on the grates.
- Close the grill’s lid and allow the fruit to smoke for 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes, remove the fruit from the grill and allow to cool to room temperature.
- In a cocktail shaker, combine several lime halves and a handful of strawberries.
- Add Traeger smoked syrup.
- Using a muddler, smash the fruit into the syrup until the juices release.
- Add the whiskey.
- Stir or shake to combine.
- Pour over ice.
- Garnish and serve your Traeger smoked strawberry-lime whiskey sour.
PRODUCTS USED FOR THIS SMOKED STRAWBERRY-LIME WHISKEY SOUR
In this recipe, we used a couple things that we don’t normally feature on the blog.
RECIPES ALSO USING FRUIT ON THE TRAEGER
We have several recipes on our blog that include fruit. Here are some ideas of things to try:
Did you make this recipe?
I’d love to know how it turned out!
Leave a review below or snap a photo,
share it on Instagram and tag me at @ThisJewCanQue
Traeger smoked strawberry-lime whiskey sour
Equipment
- Traeger grill
- Cocktail shaker
- Muddler
- Whiskey glasses
Ingredients
- 6 whole fresh strawberries
- 3 whole limes
- 3 tbsp Traeger smoked simple syrup
- 5 ounces whiskey
- Ice
Instructions
- Preheat your Traeger grill to 225* with super smoke
- Wash and trim the strawberries and rinse and cut the limes in half
- Place the fruit, cut-side down on the grates and close the lid
- Allow the fruit to smoke for 15 minutes until soft and warm
- Pull the fruit from the grill and allow it to return to room temperature
- In a cocktail shaker, add limes, strawberries and simple syrup
- Muddle until the strawberries have broken apart and the limes have released some juice
- Stir in the whiskey and replace the lid on the shaker
- Shake the mixture to combine, then pour over ice and garnish
- Serve and enjoy!
Leave a Reply