Bartenders Shout Out The Strangest Cocktail Garnishes They’ve Ever Seen

When crafting an old fashioned, the whiskey you use (whether bourbon or rye whiskey), the sugar, the Angostura bitters, and the water are all important to the overall flavor profile of the drink . But some drinkers and bartenders won’t consider the cocktail complete without an orange peel or Italian cherry garnish. Each of those has its merits but those are pretty utilitarian options, generally speaking.

In cocktail culture, garnishes are known to get a little out of control (see: Every Bloody Mary poured in 2017).

To find some of the most unique cocktail garnishes around, we turned to the folks who spend their days behind the bar for help. We asked a handful of well-known bartenders to tell us the strangest and most out-of-control cocktail garnishes they’ve ever seen. Keep scrolling to see them all.

Garlic Cloves

Martin Gutierrez, bar manager at Joia Beach’s Bar in Miami

“The strangest garnish I have ever seen is two garlic cloves — as weird as it sounds, they tasted very good. The cocktail was a garlic-infused gin martini. It’s the kind of garnish that doesn’t seem to work on the surface, but it just does.”

House-Made Beef Jerky

Ray Tremblay, corporate beverage director of COJE Group in Boston

“I feel like I’ve had some wild garnishes over the years, but one of the most recent ones was a paper-thin house-made jerky served with a clarified tomato, Sichuan peppercorn, and whiskey cocktail I had in Taipei. Who doesn’t love beef jerky, right?”

Congealed Pig’s Blood

Daniel King, head bartender at Evelyn’s at Hutton Hotel in Nashville

“The strangest garnish I have seen was at a Halloween party. They were serving zombie cocktails with a skewered piece of congealed pig’s blood on top. It fit the Halloween cocktail theme, but I’m not sure if it was beneficial to the flavor of the cocktail.”

Raw Clams

Jim Lunchick, mixologist at Merriman’s Waimea in Waimea, Hawaii

“When you seek exorbitant cocktail garnishes, you are generally seeking a Bloody Mary. I don’t know if raw clams count as ‘strange,’ but there used to be (and maybe still is?) an oyster bar in Norwalk, Connecticut called Jasper’s that got me to come in just about every Sunday Brunch for a Bloody Mary that came on a plate. On a skewer in the drink were chunks of Slim Jim’s and cheddar cheese, and on the plate next to the drink was one raw oyster and one raw clam (and two Saltine crackers). Perhaps more “unique” than “strange,” but definitely got me in the door.”

Sesame Oil

Samantha Nieves-Rivera, event manager at Mad Room Hospitality in Miami

“I’d have to say drops of sesame oil. It didn’t seem strange but more like genius. It was added to top off a martini made with Japanese whiskey, matcha green tea, and coconut milk. It tied everything together. You might use sesame oil for cooking exclusively, but give it a try in your next martini to add a new dimension.”

A Whole Banana

Jose Gil, senior bar manager for American Social in Miami

“The strangest garnish I’ve seen is a dolphin made of a whole banana with pineapple fins, cloves for eyes, and a whole nutmeg in its ‘mouth.’ It was in an unforgettable banana daiquiri at Three Dots and a Dash in Chicago. You don’t see cocktails featuring a whole banana very often. It’s a great way to enjoy a cocktail and get your daily potassium intake.”

A Burnt Match

Nick Jackson, head bartender at The Rum House in New York City

“I once saw a burnt match floating in a cocktail. That is beyond strange. I’m not sure if it was a joke as it was amongst bar industry folks, but it was used to light the orange twist oils on fire and then dropped in the cocktail. This is all sorts of ‘no’ for me, but someone did take a sip of the drink.”

Spent Coffee Grounds

Panji Wisrawan, head mixologist at Apéritif Bar in Ubud, Bali

“The incense that we use to smoke our signature cocktail ‘The Composer’ is one of the strangest garnishes I’ve come across. It’s made from spent coffee grounds from our bar and mixed with spices. We also use the spent coffee to mix with caramel and cashew nuts to create a crepe dentelle to accompany the cocktail.”

A Hand-Pressed Pill

Liana Oster, bar director at NoMad London

“Before I first got into bartending, back in Australia, the bar Der Raum used to have a cocktail called ‘Pharmacy’, where they served the drink in a medicine bottle and hand-pressed a pill in-house that was designed to be the garnish/accompaniment to the cocktail.”

A Parrot-Shaped Straw

Petr Balcarovsky, lead bartender of The Apparatus Room at Detroit Foundation Hotel in Detroit

“During my time living in Europe, I encountered a peculiar garnish that left me both amused and perplexed. At a party, the cocktail of the night was a tropically delightful mix of coconut rum and pineapple juice, garnished with an unconventional parrot-shaped straw. The vibrant colors of the parrot feathers certainly caught my eye, but I couldn’t help but find it rather impractical when it came to actually savoring the drink. As a seasoned cocktail enthusiast, my advice to all fellow partygoers: steer clear of non-edible garnishes that hinder the enjoyment of your beverage. Opt for garnishes that not only complement the drink but also allow for easy and seamless consumption. After all, the true essence of a cocktail lies in its taste and experience, not in dodging elaborate garnishes. Cheers to enjoying your drinks hassle-free and with style.”

Raspberry Salami

Simon Sebbah, beverage director at Grand Tour Hospitality in New York City

“My experience working with Lyaness taught me how far you can go with creativity. I remember a garnish that specifically caught my attention was raspberry salami, a combination of crushed-up candies cut in a circle using a cookie cutter (small cylinders used for pastries), which are then cooked to solidify. The end result looks just like a slice of some good salami. It was used in one of their signature cocktails called ‘Prelude’.”

Strips of Nori

Kyle Bobkowski, beverage manager at Crossroads Hotel in Kansas City

“One of the most imaginative cocktails I’ve enjoyed had strips of nori in the ice with a furikake spice rim and a rice-washed gin. Using food ingredients in a liquid presentation always catches my eye and nicely deepens the cocktail experience.”