Creating a cocktail involving fish sauce

[KD1191]

Got a new ingredient to play with...Blis and Red Boat have teamed up to release a quality fish sauce that's been aged in bourbon barrels that previously held Blis maple syrup.

When I first heard about it, I thought barrel aging may have jumped the shark, but the result is pretty awesome. It's a funky, salty, slightly sweet umami bomb that will likely be the secret ingredient in many future recipes. When I think about salt in cocktails, the Campari 'Martini' sticks out. Using some of the fish sauce in place of the saline solution (I went 7:1 Campari to Fish Sauce) produced a very interesting result. You got the diminished bitterness with a savory/sweet finish. The nose was a tad too funky, so I used a healthy amount of orange oil for garnish.

I then made up an Italian Fisherman (above), but something in the translation wasn't quite right (or, more likely, there's a significant difference in the citrus available in Chicago versus an island off the coast of Vietnam). It was tasty, but needed something more...a barspoon of Batavia Arrack on top definitely brought things together.

Edited March 18, 2012 by KD1191 (log)

[KD1191]

Last night it was an actual Fish Sauce Martini. A Fiddy-Fishy, if you will...

1 oz Ransom Old Tom Gin

.75 oz Cocchi Americano

.75 oz Dolin Dry Vermouth

.5 oz St. George Dry Rye Gin

Barspoon Blis/Red Boat Bourbon Barrel Aged Fish Sauce

15 drops Bittercube Barrel Aged Blood Orange Bitters

Lemon Twist

The flavor of the fish sauce wasn't really discernible against the many other strong flavors going on in the glass, which was intended. What was definitely present was the salinity (a tsp of the stuff packs 65% of your daily recommended dose of sodium), a general savoriness, and the rich, rounded mouthfeel. Maybe try this on the next person to ask for blue cheese stuffed olives in a dirty martini?

Edited May 3, 2012 by KD1191 (log)