Technique

Milk Clarification

Use milk's curdling proteins to filter a cocktail crystal clear and give it a soft, round texture.

Difficulty 🧊🧊🧊Coffee filtersfine strainertwo containers

How it works

Acid makes casein (the main protein in milk) curdle. As it forms curds, it traps the particles and harsh tannins that make juices cloudy. Strain through the curds and you get a clear, shelf-stable drink with a gentle, rounded mouthfeel from the remaining whey.

Basic method

  1. Build your batch (it needs enough acid — citrus, pineapple, or added citric acid).
  2. Pour the batch into the milk (roughly 4–5 parts batch to 1 part whole milk).
  3. Rest 30 minutes, then strain through a coffee filter, passing the first runnings back through the curd bed until clear.

Notes

Contains dairy. Clarified punches keep for weeks refrigerated. Popularized for modern bars by Dave Arnold’s Liquid Intelligence.