Classic cocktails with an Asian twist

[spiritchild]

Hi all. Does anyone have any ideas for cocktails using Asian ingredients? I know thats a pretty broad topic. I'd like to put an Asian twist on some very classic cocktails or come up with some altogether new ones. I used to make a great drink for friends at parties during the summer. I would muddle mint and lemongrass and a piece of lime, add about 1 1/2 oz gin, and a splash of lychee puree. I would shake that with ice and strain over crushed ice and top with champagne. It was kind of an Asian Southside Royale. Any other ideas out there?

[BTR]

Hi all.  Does anyone have any ideas for cocktails using Asian ingredients? I know thats a pretty broad topic.  I'd like to put an Asian twist on some very classic cocktails or come up with some altogether new ones.  I used to make a great drink for friends at parties during the summer.  I would muddle mint and lemongrass and a piece of lime, add about 1 1/2 oz gin, and a splash of lychee puree.  I would shake that with ice and strain over crushed ice and top with champagne.  It was kind of an Asian Southside Royale.  Any other ideas out there?

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I had a yuzu mojito at Sumile once, it was pretty good.

[Tess]

Lemongrass is a wonderful flavor for drinks. We made some great lemongrass-infused vodka last summer; I must do that again.

I've been drinking sake on the rocks as a cocktail and (thanks to a suggestion from someone here) I've also started using it where you might use vermouth. I had a vodka-blood orange concoction and I was topping it up with sake.

[trillium]

You might like to play around with pandan leaves, they're sort of the SE Asian equivalent of vanilla. Although the season is past, you might also like to check out kaffir limes and buddha hand citron, the later good only for infusions, not juice. On the canned front, jackfruit stands up to the process pretty well. And then there are all those "nectar" type drinks that go so well in cocktails, like soursop, passionfruit, etc. I like soursop with gin and soda water.

regards,

trillium

[cdh]

Tabla restaurant in NYC does some interesting asian-influenced cocktails. A tamarind margarita, and a lemongrass infused pineapple something or other called a Tablatini, the details of which I could dig out.

There must be more of their cocktails mentioned somewhere... they should provide good inspiration.

[Liz Johnson]

Jerri Banks used to have a great Asian cocktail menu at the now-defunct Cinnabar in Manhattan. I wrote about two of the drinks:

Jade Bliss, made with a kaffir lime mix that you'd create by blending Kaffir lime leaves, lime juice and simple syrup in a blender and then adding calamansi lime concentrate. She combined that with vodka and green tea and garnished with a julienned Kaffir lime leaf.

The other one was Candied Ginger Cooler — made with ginger-infused vodka, ginger juice, lemon juice and club soda.

I feel like there was another drink that was garnished with a star anise, too, but I didn't write about that one so I don't remember it.

[JAZ]

And don't forget ginger, which can add a nice touch to cocktails, Asian or otherwise. Ginger syrup can even make a lemon drop more interesting.

[Liz Johnson]

Mmmm. Ginger reminds me of this drink from Cafe Atlantico that I was making over the summer.

I guess being from Cafe Atlantico it's not Asian, but its flavors are, kind of. Ginger, jalapeno and passionfruit.

[Lan4Dawg]

Hi all.  Does anyone have any ideas for cocktails using Asian ingredients? I know thats a pretty broad topic.  I'd like to put an Asian twist on some very classic cocktails or come up with some altogether new ones.  I used to make a great drink for friends at parties during the summer.  I would muddle mint and lemongrass and a piece of lime, add about 1 1/2 oz gin, and a splash of lychee puree.  I would shake that with ice and strain over crushed ice and top with champagne.  It was kind of an Asian Southside Royale.  Any other ideas out there?

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there used to be--& truth be told I do not know if they even make it any more I just remember it being on our inventory list at the restaurant seemingly for ever--a Canton Ginger Liqueur. At one point I jokingly mentioned that we should consider an "Oriental martini" w/ vodka & ginger liqueur but none of us was too keen on the idea so it went no where. I suppose in keeping w/ the subject one should use rice vodka in the mix.

in loving memory of Mr. Squirt (1998-2004)--the best cat ever.

Edited March 17, 2005 by Lan4Dawg (log)

[trillium]

a Canton Ginger Liqueur.  At one point I jokingly mentioned that we should consider an "Oriental martini" w/ vodka & ginger liqueur but none of us was too keen on the idea so it went no where.  I suppose in keeping w/ the subject one should use rice vodka in the mix.

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Yeah, after all there are all those so named "Occidental martinis" so it seems only fair, right? Sheesh...sorry... the mind just boggles on that one...

regards,

trillium

[slkinsey]

I love the way The Dude orders a White Russian in "The Big Lebowski."

DUDE: Another Caucasian, Gary.

VOICE: Right, Dude.

[LindyCat]

How about cocktails using asian teas? I've been contemplating how to combine them with alcohol, but it seems like a troublesome pairing. Any suggestions?

[Rob Simmon]

Hi all.  Does anyone have any ideas for cocktails using Asian ingredients?

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The Modern--next door to the renovated MOMA in NYC--is serving a collins-type drink with Lychee syrup--Damask Gin, Lychee Syrup, and club soda, served over ice.

[WoBuJiDao]

How about cocktails using asian teas? I've been contemplating how to combine them with alcohol, but it seems like a troublesome pairing. Any suggestions?

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Go to a Korean store and get green-tea infused soju (soju is basically a lower-proof vodka with a slightly savory taste), and add that to a more robust tea, unsweetened of course. It is excellent.

Aside from that (or vodka) I agree it's just to unnatural a pairing, the tea is easily overwhlemed. Maybe a strong-brewed flower-tea would complement lighter alcohols when mixed?

[slkinsey]

The only cocktail with tea I've had is Audrey's Earl Grey MarTEAni. In that drink the Early Grey infused Tanqueray works very well. But Earl Grey is, of course, a fairly assertive flavor. Anyway, with tea flavors I think it probably makes more sense to infuse the tea into the base liquor rather than brewing some tea and using it as a modifier. An ounce or two of brewed tea will probably get lost in most cocktails.

Lapsang souchong is another very assertive tea that comes to mind. It's dried over burning pine and has a distinctively smokey flavor. I wonder what could be done with infusing lapsang souchong into some kind of liquor. Might be interesting. Maybe a riff on the Sidecar: lapsang souchong-infused brandy, Cointreau and lemon juice... or, if the flavors worked, you could take it further in the Chinese direction by using Canton Ginger Liqueur instead of Cointreau... or you could go with something like 2 oz. lapsang souchong infused brandy, 1 oz. Stone's Original Ginger (ginger flavored currant wine), 1/4 oz. Grand Marnier, 1 dash bitters (Peychaud's comes to mind for some reason -- but I'm making this all up at work, so the whole idea could completely suck). As with the MarTEAni, you'd probably want to use an egg white to smooth out the tannins from the tea.

To a certain extent, it all depends on which kind of Asian one is talking about. When I'm thinking of cocktails, my mind tends to go towards Southeast Asia rather than towards East Asia. I'm not sure how I'd put distinctively Korean, Chinese or Japanese flavors into a cocktail. But things like exotic citrus, lemongrass, coconut, kaffir lime leaves and tamarind work on the brighter side, and then there are all the sweet spices used in some of the other countries down there.

Then, the idea of classic cocktails with an Asian twist adds another layer. I would think that much could be done to impart an Asian twist simply by using, e.g., lemongrass infused gin in a classic formula, or using tamarind instead of a more traditional acid.

[gethin]

Hi all.  Does anyone have any ideas for cocktails using Asian ingredients? I know thats a pretty broad topic.  I'd like to put an Asian twist on some very classic cocktails or come up with some altogether new ones.  I used to make a great drink for friends at parties during the summer.  I would muddle mint and lemongrass and a piece of lime, add about 1 1/2 oz gin, and a splash of lychee puree.  I would shake that with ice and strain over crushed ice and top with champagne.  It was kind of an Asian Southside Royale.  Any other ideas out there?

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A recently opened bar here in London, (OQO, in Islington) offers the "OQO Mule"

Ginger and Spring Onions (which I think in the USA are called Scallions ?) muddled together, shaken over ice with Bombay Saphire and topped up with ginger beer. Not tried it yet (and not 100 % sure that I will).

Last months issue of Glass magazine reports on a new Manchester bar/restaurant , Sweet Mandarin that has a Chinese influenced cocktail list . Their best selling cocktail is apparently their Snake Blood Cocktail, based on Three Snakes Liquor - describes by one of the proprietors as "three snakes drowned in vodka". I'll post a report on it next time I get to Manchester !

Gethin

Edited April 8, 2005 by gethin (log)

[michaeldauphinais]

from the book Martinis by Ben Reed - I just bought this book as a gift and may have to get a copy for myself later. This drink is called the "Tokyo" -

"This martini can be a bit scary if it is made badly. Try to find the best-quality wasabi and the freshest ginger."

2 oz. gin

2 thin strips of fresh ginger

a small roll of wasabi

ginger strip, to garnish

"Add the ingredients to a shaker filled with ice, shake, and strain into a frosted martini glass. Garnish with a thin strip of ginger."

I haven't tried this yet, but hope to do so soon. If anyone decides to try it, please post and tell us about your results!

[herbacidal]

Jefferson Restaurant in NYC had a drink with calamansi that I thought very interesting.

[JasonTrue]

Sambar in Seattle makes a mojito with shiso, called moshiso.

Fu Kun Wu in Seattle does an infused oolong which is full of oolong flavor, called an oolongtini; a little too sweet to be a martini but still pleasant. They have a whole gamut of Chinese herbalist-themed drinks.

In Chicago a Korean restaurant called Jin Ju makes a lovely cucumber martini, called "oitini" after the Korean for cucumber. They also made something with fresh ginger which was nice, though a bit sweet.

I think you could add some amount of shochu/soju/vodka to the Korean drink soo jeong gwa (ginger/cinnamon punch with dried persimmons) for a nice digestiv.

I'm fond of yuzu-honey and shochu.

I recently made a green tea infused gin, meant for a martini-like purpose; my previous attempt was more of a liqueur. I posted my steps in the Japan forum. I'll report back on the results there next Tuesday or so.

[JasonTrue]

It occurred me that a popular (?) infused alcoholic beverage in China involves a cobra in a jar of 25-40% neutral spirits.

A few years ago I won such a jar of cobra booze when dining in a Beijing-area Cantonese restaurant near my former company's office. The cobra was still in there, all coiled up. I think it belongs on A Cook's Tour, if Tony Bourdain didn't vomit it up on an episode I missed.

My understanding was that this was supposed to have some aphrodisiac or medicinal effect.

I like to think of myself as reasonably adventurous. There's not one vegetable I won't eat, and, as vegetarians go, I'm rather flexible: I don't cause scenes when dining in Japan or China when surprised by some undeclared ingredient, and I've been known to cook the occasional bit of seafood. I grilled some squid up for some friends who were surprised at how tender it was, and I even tasted it to make sure I wasn't going to kill them.

But I graciously offered the lucky draw gift to my Chinese colleague, who must have made better use of it than I could. I thought there's not much chance I could get a few of liters of spirits surrounding a large reptile through customs coming back to the US...

In any event, if you need additional inspiration for Asian spirits, do you know any cobra ranchers in your neighborhood?

[Rob Simmon]

I made this variation on the dacquiri last night, but have not come up with a name:

2 oz. gold rum (I used Cockspur from Barbados)

3/4 oz. lime juice

1/2 oz. Monin Jasmin Syrup

[eje]

How about some sort of alcoholic bubble (boba) drink?

Occurred to me that might be kind of fun while reading The Cocktailian column about Jelly Shots.

[Matteo]

Bols makes a product called Wasabi Smash. I use it to make Bloody Marys with a spicy asian flair.