The best cocktails to pair with steak

Cocktails with steak. OK, it’s not something everyone’s asking for. But it’s been on people’s lips for a few years now. Historically, it’s something you’d see more of in the US. In Mexico, too. In Western Europe, though, there’s been a bit of a stigma around drinking hard liquor with food. But that’s changing.

That said, there was a time in England when we’d drink punch – the original cocktail – with food. It began in the Age of Sail, from the 15th century onwards, when a spices were coming in from Asia. It was seen as a fashionable thing to do. Punch was drank before, during and after the meal.

Cocktails with food: the basics

One of three things are important when pairing food and drink. First is geography: nothing goes better with beef bourguignon than a bottle of burgundy. Second is ‘body’: finding something that stands up to the big flavours of a salty, fatty steak. Finally, something that cuts through the richness of a dish to create a ‘contradictory match’.

In cocktails, I think whiskies – and in particular bold bourbon and rye – are the two base spirits in a cocktail that would work well with steak. Something along the lines of an Old Fashioned made with a good quality bourbon. You’d certainly find some complementary flavours – particularly when you start introducing spicy flavours like a peppercorn sauce.

Other food that works well with cocktails

For our menu at Hawksmoor, I always think a really dry, briny martini and oysters is a great match. In fact, any shellfish – be it langoustines or crab – works well with a clean, fresh cocktail like a martini. Particularly a gin martini: the juniper botanicals are a lovely match for raw seafood.

Incidentally, our house gin at Hawksmoor is Beefeater, made here in London. The guy who makes it – Desmond Payne MBE – has retired, but was one of the best distillers in the world. It’s the first gin I’d recommend to people if they want to make an inexpensive but delicious martini at home.

Generally, martinis are a great steak-house all-rounder. They don’t really obstruct many flavours in food. For seafood they’re complementary, for steaks they’re cleansing. They’re something we take really seriously at Hawksmoor. And besides being a good match for food they keep you nicely lubricated.

If I had to choose a cocktail to go with my steak…

…I’d either go for an Old Fashioned – to match those big, bold flavours – or for something more cleansing like our Shakey Pete’s Ginger Brew. Its gingery, lemony flavours would work well with a really fatty ribeye. In fact, that’s our most popular cocktail with a steak at Hawksmoor.