Some Richmond restaurants milk-wash your drink. What the heck does that mean?

RICHMOND, Va. — At Richmond restaurant Heritage on Main Street, bar manager Jess Benevour serves a “Should Have Had a V8” cocktail based on seasonal produce and food stuffs. The current iteration with Toma Celena cheese rind (nutty Italian cheese), cucumber, garlic scapes, basil, mint, and lime, sounds like a savory appetizer.

Spoiler alert: It’s not. It’s a shockingly translucent cocktail.

At Charlotte’s Southern Deli and Tapas downtown, owner Paul Polk is serving a clarified Bloody Mary. It has tomato juice, granulated garlic, fennel, grated horseradish, among other things (recipe below). The finished product looks like a martini but holds on to all the tomato and spice of the brunch drink.

How? Cocktail clarification, or more specifically, milk-washing. Click here to read more about milk-washing in Style Weekly .

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