East Meets West These Asian-Inspired Cocktails Add Exotic Flair to Your Home Bar

East Meets West These Asian-inspired cocktails add exotic flair to your home bar.

BY KELLY MAGYARICS PHOTOS BY TODD HUFFMAN

ight now, sips are taking an exotic trip, as elixirs crafted with Asian ingredients are bringing the Far REast as close to you as your glass. Libations are brightened by a squeeze of yuzu or kumquat, while muddled kaffir lime leaves or chopped lemongrass turn up the volume on aromatics. Heat—chilies, sriracha, peppercorns or baking spic- es—appeals to masochistic mixologists who want to make you sweat. And that fifth taste, umami, pops up in hoisin, soy and bacon. These shaker-worthy components deftly complement Far East spirits to create striking cocktail bases. The best part? These creative concoctions require neither a long list of ingredients nor a passport to deliver palate-piquing flavor.

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Ma Collins Recipe courtesy Juan Coro- ¼ ounce fresh yuzu juice nado, beverage director, Think- Splash of sparkling water FoodGroup, China Chilcano, 1 piece star anise, for Washington, D.C. garnish 1 piece lemon peel, for The name for this cocktail at garnish China Chilcano, José Andrés’s Peruvian/Chinese/Japanese fusion Combine all ingredients except for restaurant, derives from the the sparkling water and garnishes Chinese word for horse, as 2014 into a cocktail shaker filled with was both the Year of the Horse ice. Shake vigorously until chilled. and a most auspicious time for Strain into an ice-filled highball ThinkFoodGroup, according to glass, top with sparkling water and Coronado. garnish with star anise and lemon “The yuzu imparts great aro- peel. mas, and the five-spice syrup brings sweetness and earthiness to the cocktail,” he says. STAR ANISE-GINGER SYRUP 1 cup sugar 2 ounces Old Overholt ¼ cup diced ginger Straight Rye Whiskey ¼ cup star anise pods ¾ ounce Star Anise-Ginger Syrup (recipe below) In a small saucepan, combine 1 cup water, sugar and ginger, and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, add star anise and let steep for 20 minutes. Double-strain syrup. Let cool before using. Cambodian Mule You Do Yuzu Recipe courtesy Les Baker, head bartender, Session Kitchen, Denver Bright, tart and more exotic Baker has long seen the synergy of coconut and kaffir lime, and he uses them here in than your garden-variety lemon an unexpected twist on one of the first vodka cocktails. or lime, Asian citrus fruits give “We steep the kaffir lime leaves to extract the flavor,” he says. “It adds a unique bright, zesty notes to libations. depth to the citrus component and creates a beautiful aroma.” Yuzu, the most popular The drink gets tropical flavor and a soft, textural component from the saké. and readily available, is like a lemon-tangerine mash-up, and 1½ ounces Kaffir Lime- KAFFIR LIME-INFUSED VODKA Infused Vodka (recipe 20 kaffir lime leaves it works well in light-bodied below) cocktails, according to Spangler. 1 750 ml bottle vodka ½ ounce Ty Ku Coconut He also likes to use heady kaffir Nigori Saké lime leaves. Lightly bruised as Add leaves to vodka. Infuse for ½ ounce lime juice a garnish, they’re incredibly 10–14 days, shaking occasionally. aromatic. 3 ounces ginger beer Strain out leaves before using. Brown makes a whiskey 1 lime wheel, for garnish sour riff with tiny, full-flavored Large fresh coconut flakes, for kalamansi or kumquat. garnish “The bitterness of the skin with the sweetness of the fruit Add the vodka, saké and lime juice is a stellar combination with to a copper mug filled with ice. rye whiskey and tamarind,” Top with ginger beer. Garnish with Brown says. lime wheel and coconut flakes.

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Som Tum Sling Hot & Sour Gimlet

Recipe courtesy Chad Spangler, director of Recipe courtesy Marisa Brown, wine operations, The Menehune Group, Soi 38, director, Lukshon, Culver City, California Washington, DC For this Southeast Asian take on the gim- Thai green papaya salad, or Som Tum, is let, bartenders use sweet Osmanthus wine, reimagined in liquid form in this creation. a floral-flavored Chinese beverage, to foil “Although it has notes of spice, the the chilies’ heat. Lemon, lime and kinh gioi, salad is incredibly refreshing and citrus a Vietnamese herb reminiscent of lemon- forward,” says Spangler. In the cocktail, an grass, provide bright citrus tones. Eastern-style gin hints of peppercorn and “The best Asian food contains elements lemongrass, green papaya lends a vegetal of sweet, sour and spicy working in harmo- note and Thai chilies ramp up the heat. ny, and this drink exhibits all these notes beautifully,” says Brown. 2 ounces Bombay Sapphire East Gin ¾ ounce lime juice 6 kinh gioi leaves (may substitute lemon balm or lemon mint) 1 ounce Thai Chili & Black Pepper Syrup (recipe below) 2 ounces Vodka Monopolowa Pinch of shredded green papaya ½ ounce Thai Chili Syrup (recipe below) 1 Thai chili, for garnish ½ ounce Osmanthus wine Green papaya strips, for garnish ¼ ounce lemon juice Add all ingredients except garnish to a ¼ ounce lime juice cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake hard for 10 seconds. Strain into a Collins glass 1 Thai basil leaf, bruised, for garnish over crushed ice. Garnish with Thai chili Muddle kinh gioi leaves in bottom of a Spice Is Nice and green papaya strips. cocktail shaker. Fill shaker with ice, add all “Spice doesn’t always just mean ingredients except garnish and shake until spicy hot, as in chili peppers, but chilled. Strain drink into a chilled cocktail should also be thought of as a THAI CHILI & BLACK PEPPER SYRUP glass, and garnish with Thai basil leaf. seasoning,” says Spangler. 2¼ teaspoons coarse, freshly ground Soi 38 uses spicy elements that black pepper fuel the fire—green and red 2–3 red Thai chilies THAI CHILI SYRUP Thai chilies, black peppercorn 2–3 green Thai chilies ½ cup sugar and sriracha—as well as tamer, 2–3 Thai chilies more tempered ones like ginger, 2 cups sugar cardamom, cinnamon, clove and Add first 3 ingredients and 2 cups of water Combine sugar, chilies and ½ cup water in coriander. to a large saucepan. Bring to a boil and add a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then re- Brown employs galangal, sugar. Boil for 5 minutes, then reduce heat, move from heat. Steep until desired spici- which she says is similar to cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove ness is achieved, then strain out solids. ginger, “but a bit sharper and from heat, strain out solids and let cool. spicier,” but her current favorite is Sichuan peppercorn. Though overpowering when consumed whole, when properly used, it’s more tolerable. “They have this incredible floral, citrus aroma,” she says.

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