Swanky steakhouse/barbecue joint lovechild Epic Smokehouse will cook up smoked prime rib, smoked scallops, and smoked brisket when it opens in Arlington on Monday. But the smoking hot item that Y&H is looking forward to trying? Cocktails with smoked ice.

Co-owner Joon Yang, who’s in charge of the drinks, says he’s still playing with the exact recipe. The smoked ice will eventually make its way into the $10 Bacon Bourbon Old Fashion. Guests will also be order their bourbon or Scotch on smoked rocks.

To make the ice, Yang uses the restaurant’s meat smoker to impart the flavor in water, which is then frozen. Lessons learned so far: Smoking the water for an hour doesn’t impart enough smoke, and five hours is too much. He anticipates the sweet spot will be somewhere between two to three and half hours. Yang ruled out liquid smoke, which has a noticeably artificial flavor. Look for the smoked ice to debut within two weeks of Epic’s opening.

As for the rest of the cocktail menu, there are five signature cocktails to start, including a grape martini and blackberry lemonade. An additional three cocktail specials will be scrawled on the chalkboard.

Epic Smokehouse, 1330 S. Fair St., Arlington; epicsmokehouse.com.

Photo courtesy Epic Smokehouse