The key to turning any cocktail into a fun edible pod is the right dilution ratio and a little reverse spherification magic. This recipe is sure to wow and impress. Ssshhh, no one needs to know how easy it really was.
Create Cocktail Pods
Ingredients
- 1 Cocktail Recipe (see below)
- Setting Bath:
- 2 cups (500g) Distilled Water
- 1 tsp (2.5g) Perfected Sodium Alginate
Equipment
- Medium Heavy Bottom Pot
- Spherification Molds
- Spherification Spoon
Timing
Active Time: 30 Minutes
Total Time: 4 Hours 30 Minutes
Yield
~5-10 Cocktail Pods
-
Mix Cocktail
Scroll down to pick the ingredients for your desired cocktail.
Mix together all cocktail ingredients in a blender and blend on high for 1 minute or until the calcium has dissolved.
Pour mixture into an ice cube tray or hemispherical molds and freeze solid.
-
Create Sodium Alginate Mixture
Prepare your cocktail pod recipe (see below).
While the pods are freezing mix the distilled water and perfected sodium alginate together with a whisk and allow it to hydrate for at least 1 hour before use. You will know this is ready to use because it will be completely clear.
Once the spheres are frozen solid. pour the perfected sodium alginate solution in a small shallow pot and heat to 120-130°F.
-
Create Pods
Drop a frozen sphere into the Perfected sodium alginate solution, and let set for 2-3 minutes.
Tips and Tricks:
A. Do not over crowd the pot, placing the pods too close together will cause them to gel together.
B. If the cocktail pod floats, do your best to baste the top gently with the sodium alginate solution to make sure it gels evenly.
C. If there is a small air bubble do not try to pop it or you could ruin the entire pod.
-
Rince Pods, Serve, Store
Once finished remove the pod from the solution with a spherification spoon and rinse in room temperature freshwater.
Remove from the rinse water and dab any excess water off the bottom of the spoon with a paper towel.
Place on a serving spoon and garnish appropriately.
To store the spheres for further use, simply place them in a container with any excess cocktail mixture and refrigerate.
Blue Margarita
Ingredients
- 30g (1 oz) Tequila
- 30g (1 oz) Blue Curacao
- 21g (⅔ oz) Lemon/Lime Juice
- 30g (1 oz) Simple Syrup
- 150g (5 oz) Water
- 5g (1 ½ tsp) Calcium lactate Gluconate
Equipment
- Ice Cube Tray or Hemispherical Molds
- Blender
Timing
Active Time: 30 Minutes
Total Time: 4 Hours 30 Minutes
Yield
~5-10 Cocktail Pods
Tequila Sunrise
Ingredients
- Cocktail Ingredients:
- 42g (1 ½ oz) Tequila
- 160g (¾ cup) Orange Juice
- 21g (⅔ oz) Grenadine
- 60g (2 oz) Water
- 2.8g (1 tsp) Calcium Lactate Gluconate
Equipment
- Ice Cube Tray or Hemispherical Molds
- Blender
Timing
Active Time: 30 Minutes
Total Time: 4 Hours 30 Minutes
Yield
~5-10 Cocktail Pods
Midori Sour
Ingredients
- Cocktail Ingredients:
- 60g (2 oz) Midori
- 14g (½ oz) Lime Juice
- 75g (2 ½ oz) Water
- 60g (2 oz) Pineapple Juice
- 3.8g (1 ⅛ tsp) Calcium Lactate Gluconate
Equipment
- Ice Cube Tray or Hemispherical Molds
- Blender
Timing
Active Time: 30 Minutes
Total Time: 4 Hours 30 Minutes
Yield
~5-10 Cocktail Pods
Piña Colada
Ingredients
- Cocktail Ingredients:
- 110g (4 oz) Pineapple Juice
- 60g (1 oz) Coconut Cream
- 45g (1 ½ oz) White Rum
- 30g (1 oz) Dark Rum
- 15g (½ oz) Heavy Cream
- 90g (3 oz) Water
- 3g (1 tsp) Calcium Lactate Gluconate
Equipment
- Ice Cube Tray or Hemispherical Molds
- Blender
Timing
Active Time: 30 Minutes
Total Time: 4 Hours 30 Minutes
Yield
~5-10 Cocktail Pods
Cosmopolitan
Ingredients
- Cocktail Ingredients:
- 30g (2 ½ oz) Vodka
- 135g (4 ½ oz) Cranberry Juice
- 30g (1 oz) Orange Juice
- 0.5g (pinch) Lime Juice
- 30g (1 oz) Water
- 2.1g (¾ tsp) Calcium Lactate Gluconate
Equipment
- Ice Cube Tray or Hemispherical Molds
- Blender
Timing
Active Time: 30 Minutes
Total Time: 4 Hours 30 Minutes
Yield
~5-10 Cocktail Pods
Empress Gin Cocktail
Ingredients
- Cocktail Ingredients:
- 75g (2 ½ oz) Empress Gin
- 45g (1 ½ oz) Ginger Simple Syrup (recipe below)
- 5g (1 tsp) Lemon Juice
- 0.5g (pinch) Salt
- 150g (5 oz) Water
- 4g (1 ¼ tsp) Calcium Lactate Gluconate
- Ginger Syrup:
- 500g (2 cups) Sugar
- 500g (2 cups) Water
- 90g (3 oz) Ginger, Sliced Thin
Equipment
- Ice Cube Tray or Hemispherical Molds
- Blender
Timing
Active Time: 30 Minutes
Total Time: 4 Hours 30 Minutes
Yield
~5-10 Cocktail Pods
-
Ginger Syrup (Empress Gin Cocktail Only)
To make the ginger syrup place the sugar, water, and ginger in a pot and bring to boil for 3 minutes.
Allow the ginger to steep in the simple syrup for 10 minutes.
Remove the ginger and cool before using.
Summary
Recipe Name
Classic Cocktail Pods
Author Name
Modernist Pantry
Published On
Preparation Time
Total Time
Average Rating
Based on 3 Review(s)
Comments (16)
December 31, 2019 9:53 am
[…] Recipe Link: Cocktail Pods […]
January 6, 2020 4:00 pm
For your recipe “Classic Cocktail Pods,” I do not understand the instruction included in Step 4: “To serve, release the pressure from the whipping siphon and remove the top of the siphon. Pour into a glass and drink.” Where does the whipping siphon come into play?
January 7, 2020 9:46 am
Totally fixed .?
January 7, 2020 2:10 pm
Fun idea! From what I can see the ABV is around 10-12% which allows the pod to freeze (as opposed to a more standard cocktail of around 20% which wouldn’t, at least in a standard freezer). I was wondering if you have tried and /or whether there would be merit in adding a little xanthan gum to thicken cocktail a bit and potentially improve mouthfeel. I know this is typically done with for example carbonated mojito spheres, although as the cocktail isn’t frozen I am guessing the xanthan helps the mohito to maintain some kind of shape as it is spooned into alginate as opposed to just thickening.
January 7, 2020 3:16 pm
You can definitely thicken a bit with xanthan if you’re looking for more texture. We liked that it was still fully liquid inside, but that’s definitely a personal preference and it’ll be fun to play around with that.
May 24, 2020 12:18 pm
Help! I purchased the ingredients to make the drink pods and have followed the written instructions and watched the video on how to make them several times but every time I tried, when I go to pick up the pods with the spoon (bought from you guys) the pods just break apart in the pot. I have the pot at about 120 degrees. The drink ice cubes are around 1 ounce in size. In some cases the pods have gone straight to the bottom of the pan and seem to stick at the bottom so when attempting to scoop them up after 2-3 minutes of bath time they disintegrate. In a couple other cases, where there were bubbles frozen on top of the cubes, they floated. When basting them with the solution, they would immediately break apart as well. What am I doing wrong?
May 26, 2020 9:55 am
There’s a lot to unpack here as spherification is a delicate process. STart with adding less alcohol to the mix until you get the hang of it. Spherification is advanced and takes a lot of finesse practice. Continue making 1 at a time so that they do not stick. You can swirl the water gently with a spoon to help with the sticking.
May 30, 2020 1:46 pm
Janie, thanks for the response but I’ve been following your drink recipe to the T. It almost feels as if the spoon is too small for the pods and thus they break when they overspill the spoon borders/edges. Is the spoon used in your video the same size as the one you sell?
June 4, 2020 4:02 pm
Janie, did you miss my reply? Can you please respond? Thank you
June 16, 2020 12:11 pm
Janie, I’m disappointed that I have to yet leave you another email asking for a response to my prior one from May 30th. If you’re not the right person to help me with this, can you please pass it on to someone who might be able to help?
July 25, 2020 2:06 pm
Can you please explain the reason for including water in the recipes and why that certain amount. Thank you.
July 26, 2020 8:29 pm
Alcohol is difficult to spherify without dilution. The different recipes have different amounts where we were able to dilute sufficiently to spherify without messing with the taste of the cocktail. Each recipe will be different.
March 10, 2021 9:11 pm
I cant get the pods to freeze solid. I am always left with a slushy texture. How do i get the pods to freeze solid? I followed the directions of your gin recipe perfectly. I am not sure what I am doing wrong.
March 11, 2021 11:32 am
This may be an issue if your freezer doesn’t get cold enough. An easy fix is to either increase the water content of each cocktail or lower the alcohol content. This will make them freeze easier in your freezer.
July 5, 2021 7:32 am
Hi Janie,
The recipes say that they yield 50 cocktail pods.
Is this using a smaller mould, than a 1 oz mould?
Or is it a type and means 5 cocktail pods?
July 6, 2021 11:45 am
This is a typo, good catch! The correct yield should be 5-10 pods, depending on the mould size.