Breakfast Cereal Cocktails: The Taste You Can See

By Khadija Dukes on August 27, 2014

An Unusual Sweet Treat

An eclectic mélange of pinks, blues and greens blossom in a familiar swirl of creamy, saccharine delight. A hazy, watercolor image begins to appear as the colors and flavors begin to melt into one another. A cold glass sits on the table, awaiting the arrival of the cool mixture into the piquant liquid that already fills the glass. Fresh pieces of cereal garnish the cereal-infused cocktail that offers its drinkers a moment of nostalgia and a sense of comfort with each warming sip.

Breakfast cereal is no longer a food that is reserved for kids on a Saturday morning or for college kids who are in need of a late-night snack. Breakfast cereal is now being infused in liquor.

While breakfast cereal cocktails may be a fairly new concept in the south, they are gaining plenty of popularity in the north. There are several bars along the east coast that offer breakfast cereal cocktails on their menu, including Music City Tippler in Tennessee and Broken Shaker in Florida. Here, top mixologists share their breakfast cereal cocktails.

There are several ways to create these cocktails and infuse the flavor of cereal into them. One method, which is heavily utilized by bars like Canon in Seattle, Momofuku Milk Bar in New York City and Music City Tippler in Nashville, infuse cereal into milk and strain the mixture so that they may use the milk in the cocktail.

Momofuku Milk Bar, which is known for using cereal milk in a variety of different ways, offers its customers a Cereal Milk White Russian.

“I wanted to find a late-night menu item using cereal milk and the first boozy drink I could think that really celebrated dairy is the White Russian,” said Christina Tosi, the owner and founder of Momofuku Milk Bar.

Momofuku Milk Bar is known for its Cereal Milk drinking milk, so it is no wonder their Cereal Milk White Russian is so popular. The popularity of the Cereal Milk led Tosi to wonder how she could use cereal milk in other ways. What better way to incorporate the breakfast favorite into a late-night treat than to make a Cereal Milk White Russian?

Intriguing or Disgusting?

Although these cocktails are very popular with fans of cereal, the use of dairy or breakfast food is not very appealing to those who are lactose intolerant or dislike breakfast food items.

“Honestly, cereal and cocktails sounds nasty. I don’t even like breakfast,” said Dami Saliu, a third-year at the University of Georgia.

According to a recent study by the NPD group, about 18 percent of Americans regularly skip breakfast, an increase from the 10 percent reported in 2011.

Even the mixologists themselves have mixed opinions on the subject.

“I’m not a fan of dairy and alcohol. It’s just not really my cup of tea. It’s kind of weird,” said Capital Room head bartender Chris Sampsel.

But despite the difference of opinion, it appears that these cocktails have made a firm impression, and a few fans.

“I think breakfast cereal cocktails are a really unique concept,” said third-year University of Georgia student Chante Roebuck. “I think it’s really innovative to incorporate cereal with cocktails.”

The combination of a childhood favorite and an adulthood favorite also contributes to the appeal of these cocktails, as they allow the drinker to tailor the cocktail to his or her tastes and connect it to personal experiences.

“For me I like Golden Grahams, I like Cinnamon Toast Crunch and combining that with an alcoholic beverage you get the best of both worlds,” said Adanze Onwuliri, a third-year at the University of Georgia.

With so many different flavor combinations, breakfast cereal cocktails provide people with a variety of options to satisfy their inner child. Such variations have led these cocktails to remain popular with breakfast cereal lovers and those who prefer the sugary flavor that cereal adds to a cocktail.

“I think it sounds good because there are different kinds of cereal and different kinds of cocktails you can try out. I want to try a Cap’n Crunch,” said Chinyere Uzoigwe.

However, using actual cereal milk in a cocktail is not the only way to infuse the effervescent flavors of breakfast cereal into a drink. For first-timers who want to ease into drinking breakfast cereal cocktails, the Sichuan Garden restaurant and bar in Woburn, Mass., offers customers a smoky drink with Cocoa Puffs cream.

Another method of infusing the taste of breakfast cereal into a cocktail is by infusing the actual liquor with the cereal. Users of this method include the Broken Shaker Bar in Miami and Russell House Tavern in Cambridge, Mass.

“With cereal milk cocktails you eliminate a lot of people who can’t have dairy, but depending on the flavor profile (sweet, sour, bitter, salty) you are going for I think cereal milk cocktails and cocktails with cereal infused liquor could both be enjoyable,” said Sam Gabrielli, bar manager at Russell House Tavern.

Russell House Tavern was one of the first bars to offer breakfast cereal cocktails on its menu and its options include an Applejacks Rose, a Cinnamon Toast Mudslide, a Golden Graham Manhattan and a Cocoa Puff Smash cocktail.

It appears, however, that the most appealing aspect of the cereal cocktails is the sense of familiarity that it evokes.

“It’s funny because Cinnamon Toast Crunch infused in the rum ends up tasting like the cereal, it ends up tasting like cinnamon and sugar. It feels like I’m eating a bowl of cereal,” Gabrielli said.

Fans of these cocktails also agree on the flavor experience of these unique drinks. Without an experienced palate, or a firm knowledge of liquors, those who enjoy it may not be able to distinguish the ingredients themselves; however, this does not seem to minimize any enjoyment.

“It’s very milky and creamy and cinnamon-y with something else, like a sha-bang, like Kahlua,” said Leslie Gouthro of the Cinnamon Toast Crunch cocktail.

Yet the same drink evokes a different feeling from Chelsea McWhorter who describes the taste as “a cool, red-hot fireball candy rolling down your throat.”

Taste of Nostalgia

The beauty of these beverages is that they also provide drinkers with a different experience, depending on the person. And personal memories of these cereals, and what the individuals associate with them, often results in the cocktails bringing on a sense of nostalgia.

Perhaps the reason breakfast cereal cocktails trigger nostalgia is involuntary memory— when situations encountered in daily life evoke recollections of the past without conscious effort.

An explanation for this could be the way our brains are wired. According to Scientific American, in our brains is an olfactory bulb which controls the perception of odors. The olfactory bulb is closely located to the amygdala, associated with emotion, and the hippocampus, which affects associative learning. Due to these glands and conditioned responses, certain smells and tastes trigger certain memories.

“One of the reasons why people like the smell and flavor of these breakfast cereals is because it induces olfactory induced nostalgia,” said smell and taste expert Dr. Alan Hirsch. “So when you taste these cocktails they induce the nostalgic feeling that you had when you were little and provide a sense of safety and security.”

These emotions are clearly expressed by others, solidifying the theory into practical results.

“They make you feel like a kid. Every time I have one of those I forget I’m a 31-year-old and feel like a 13-year-old,” Gabrielli said. “I guess I’m living vicariously through my older, less responsible self.”

When customers take a sip of Tosi’s Cereal Milk White Russian, she hopes to evoke the same feelings.

“Similar to Cereal Milk, it’s meant to resonate with a depth of flavor, and ‘gettability’ but still feed the creative mind and belly,” Tosi said. “Making a connection with something you eat is what I believe really resonates with people, sparks a memory and keeps us all obsessed with food.”

Homemade Breakfast Cocktails

Making one of these enticing cocktails at home is another way to experience what breakfast cereal has to offer. It is actually a lot easier than one would think and you do not have to break the bank to do it.

“I wouldn’t even use top shelf liquor,” Gabrielli said. “Don’t waste your money.”

All you need is about eight ounces of cereal, two pints of liquor and a strainer or coffee filter. Simply let the cereal steep in the liquor or milk if you choose to use it, strain, mix with other liquors of your choice and garnish with cereal.

And as fan favorites, Tosi provides a couple of suggestions. “My two favorites are cereal milk made with Cap’n Crunch and Lucky Charms, but Fruity Pebbles flavored cereal milk also makes a killer daiquiri.”

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