Baltimore’s newest beverage trend? Clear cocktails that taste complex.

Baltimore is no slouch when it comes to its boozy beverage scene. That’s especially evident with the latest trend I’m seeing in bars: the clarified cocktail, a time- and labor-intensive drink.

In laymen’s terms, a clarified cocktail is made by removing the tiny particles in juices, fruits or spirits that often create cloudiness and heaviness in a drink, resulting in an almost crystal-clear, well-rounded, silky beverage instead. (If you’re looking for a more scientific explanation, the drink undergoes a whey or pectinase fruit enzyme clarification process and is then strained of impurities.)

“It can dull flavors, but it also melds everything into a cohesive whole,” said Mama Koko’s bartender Carder House. By removing the pulp and thickness in juices, a shaken cocktail can transform into something that tastes softer and more integrated.

If you haven’t tried a clarified cocktail, take this as your sign. Here are some places to get one.

Mama Koko’s

• 100 E. 23rd St.

Under the guidance of Bar Director Jake Eyer, the team at Mama Koko’s offers the most variety of clarified cocktails in the city, pouring about four different kinds a night. The favored clarifying method here is using pectinase fruit enzyme, including for the Coastin’, a mainstay menu item from House, who joined the team last year after relocating from Seattle.

Influenced by the Asian flavors prominent in the Pacific city, House’s booze-forward drink features a nori-infused reposado tequila with sake and a mango shrub. The amber color from the tequila is stripped away during the clarification process, along with any fruit skin and residue from the mango, resulting in a smooth taste that balances all of the flavors. The drink, which is served with a large ice cube wrapped in nori, is so clear you have to close your eyes to make sure you’re really tasting that depth of fruit, rice and umami, evoking a sushi roll.

You can also try the Chula Vista, which clarifies blistered tomatillos in mezcal and tequila, and the Ghost Ride, Eyer’s version of a milk punch using two whiskeys, toasted cardamom orgeat, lime and bitters.

CookHouse

• 1501 Bolton St.

The Baklava cocktail at CookHouse was inspired by a dream from bar birector Gabe Valladares. When he woke up, he realized he had not ever really tasted the popular Middle Eastern dessert of layered honey and phyllo dough mixed with nuts like pistachios, so he went to the store to try the dessert before turning it into a boozy beverage.

“It’s messed up,” Valladares said. “It’s just so good, it shouldn’t be a cocktail. It tastes like a baklava… almost like a pistachio ice cream kind of thing, but in a cocktail.”

The Baklava, the singular clarified drink on a tight list of top-tier cocktails at the upscale Bolton Hill establishment, undergoes a three-day clarification process. The first day, the rum is infused with pistachios, which turns the brown liquor green. Then the second day, oat milk is added with lemon to curdle the mixture overnight. On the last day, it’s strained, resulting in a clear liquid. The final drink is mixed with honey and sherry to create a golden-light color, and is served with a pistachio house foam with nuts. The menu here, both cocktail and food, changes seasonally, so be sure to go this summer to get a taste of this bourbon and rum beverage found on the dessert menu.

Rye of Baltimore

• 1639 Thames St.

This quintessential cocktail bar on Thames Street — which has been featured on several best bar lists, including Esquire magazine’s, since opening in 2012 — is not to be confused with Rye Street Tavern in the Baltimore Peninsula. While Rye of Baltimore has slowly drifted into the background, it’s still among the top cocktail bars in the city. Known for its whiskey-forward drinks, as the name implies, the bar currently features Proof in the Pudding, a milk-clarified cocktail using a house blend of rum, vanilla, banana cream tea and cacao. Served in a clear milk carton with a straw, the drink is a mix of nostalgia and fun from lead bartender Kyle Simpkins.

The Undefeated

• 1704 Thames St.

The Fells Point cocktail bar entering its sophomore year deserves an honorable mention for its rotating list of clarified cocktails. This year, the Key West-inspired rum bar featured a milk-clarified banana-colada for two weeks around Valentine’s Day, and will add a coquito ice cream clarified cocktail in July as part of their second “Christmas in July” event. Bar lead Zakaria El-Dahabi, who coincidentally cut his teeth at Rye of Baltimore before taking the helm at this watering hole, is also playing around with a green chile and tomato concoction, using the fruit enzyme from a frozen tomato to clarify the beverage for the “dirty ‘tini crowd.” Keep an eye out for that on the menu as the warmer summer months approach.