Sake cocktails

[KKrueger]

At a sushi bar in Boulder, we enoyed a wonderful pear-infused sake that we were led to believe was made in-house.  My wife was a huge fan and was determined to duplicate the recipe.

We soaked pear and ginger root in sake and let it soak for about 3 weeks.  The result was good, but not close to what we had hoped.  

I can't find any info on the web about making infused sakes.

Any help?

Thanks!

[Jason Perlow]

The dried tail of the fugu (blowfish) is sometimes heated in hot sake, leaving a somewhat funky cocktail. Its supposed to be a macho thing to improve sexual stamina, I believe. I had it once.

[coolranch]

A bartender friend of mine makes a fig-infused sake.  He keeps one of those big jars w/the spigot.  I'm not sure of the measurements, but once the figs soak for a day or so, he heats a snifter glass with the steam from his espresso machine and serves it in the warm glass as a digestif.  It's good and has a warm-raisiny taste.

He also infuses vodka with dried apples for an apple martini that tastes like apple struedel instead of that overly sweet lime green concoction that is so popular.

[swingers]

I worked a year ago at Nobu restaurant here in Paris and we made a lot of fruits flavored saké.

The best one was with lavender flowers.

Also, we made a cocktail call “le shochu de chef“ made with shoshu, vodka, nuts liquor and a splash of pineapple.

[aspicLove]

Momokawa sake makes a bunch: asian pear, yuzu, ginger, hazelnut, and some berry flavored one.

I think the problem with infusing sake is that the alcohol content's pretty low, so you'd probably have to use 1) lots of the flavorant, or 2) steep it for a while, like more than a week. I don't know if sake goes bad if you leave it unrefrigerated after opening, but if you keep it in the fridge the infusion will take even longer.........

[aspicLove]

Also, we made a cocktail call “le shochu de chef“ made with shoshu, vodka, nuts liquor and a splash of pineapple.

What's shoshu?

[Hiroyuki]

At a sushi bar in Boulder, we enoyed a wonderful pear-infused sake that we were led to believe was made in-house.  My wife was a huge fan and was determined to duplicate the recipe.

We soaked pear and ginger root in sake and let it soak for about 3 weeks.  The result was good, but not close to what we had hoped.  

I can't find any info on the web about making infused sakes.

Any help?

Thanks!

I tried to find a clue to "pear-infused sake" on the Internet in Japanese, but failed. Maybe it is a pure invention of that sushi bar. Or, was it just white liquor or shochu, not sake?

What Jason Perlow described is called hire-zake in Japan (hire = fin, zake = sake).

http://www.tec-tsuji.com/recipe2002/chef/j...5/hiresake.html

(Japanese only)

[freshherbs]

anyone have a good recipe for a sake cocktail using subtle asian fruit or herb flavors (ginger, lemongrass, citrus)? thanks

cool as pie, hip from head to toe, a Maltese kitten, a solid viper  -bob dylan said that

[Tess]

Do you mind using vodka? I have made vodka infusions with lemongrass as well as such fruits as yuzu and lychee. The yuzu was just heavenly You could make a "saketini" with some of these infused vodkas mixed with sake. You can garnish the drink with the vodka-soaked fruit as a bonus (but watch your booze content per drink).

[freshherbs]

Do you mind using vodka? I have made vodka infusions with lemongrass as well as such fruits as yuzu and lychee. The yuzu was just heavenly You could make a "saketini" with some of these infused vodkas mixed with sake. You can garnish the drink with the vodka-soaked fruit as a bonus (but watch your booze content per drink).

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hmmm, i am looking to keep it spirits-free (just saw other post below about liquor licenses--similar issue here). also hoping to celebrate the body, character of certain sakes. unlike vodka, it actually has a taste that can add body (almost umami) to a cocktail.

i have found that pear juice works well with it's subtle acidity, but looking for other ideas

[Tess]

Can you infuse sake? I'm pretty sure someone here has talked about doing it on one of the cocktail threads. I think also that Abra was talking on a completely different thread (Total yogurt, maybe?) about making a cucumber-nigori mixture that sounded good too.

Agreed, sakes are delicious and you might as well play up their unique qualities. The possibilities ought to be endless. The dreaded PF Chang's has a couple of cocktails based on those different-flavored sakes that come in a blue bottle-- asian pear, melon, raspberry etc. I'm not that wild about that particular brand of sake (sorry; I forget the name but it's all over) but that does seem like a good idea.

[Alchemist]

Sake does have that almost umami loveliness. I think plums would be a nice way to go. they have a meatiness that will be interesting. Figs would also be nice. Shizo (Sp), ginger, pickled ginger lemongrass, wasabi, coriander, dried shrimp (for bloody mary w/sake) ect. Any time you're out for asian look for interesting flavor profiles that could be melded into booze.

[Tess]

What about dropping a lower-salt pickled plum into a glass of sake?

[eje]

Can you infuse sake? I'm pretty sure someone here has talked about doing it on one of the cocktail threads. I think also that Abra was talking on a completely different thread (Total yogurt, maybe?) about making a cucumber-nigori mixture that sounded good too.

←

Infusing things in liquor, like vodka or brandy, works well because alcohol is such an efficient solvent. I'm not sure that sake really has enough alcohol to act in the same way. Probably, it would work OK for water soluble flavors and essences.

In addition, vodka and other high proof alcohols act as preservatives and disinfectants for items steeped in them. Again, I don't think sake has enough alcohol to act in this manner. If you steeped fresh plums in sake at room temperature, you would probably end up with vinegar in relatively short order.

[Tess]

Pretty much as I feared.

My idea of adding infused vodkas to sake was as a way of putting in fruit flavors without having to add too much sweetness as juices or syrups would.

[eje]

My idea of adding infused vodkas to sake was as a way of putting in fruit flavors without having to add too much sweetness as juices or syrups would.

←

Or, instead of vodka, use shochu. At the japanese markets here they even sell one with the plums still in it (Ume-Shu).

[AzianBrewer]

Can you infuse sake? I'm pretty sure someone here has talked about doing it on one of the cocktail threads. I think also that Abra was talking on a completely different thread (Total yogurt, maybe?) about making a cucumber-nigori mixture that sounded good too.

Agreed, sakes are delicious and you might as well play up their unique qualities. The possibilities ought to be endless. The dreaded PF Chang's has a couple of cocktails based on those different-flavored sakes that come in a blue bottle-- asian pear, melon, raspberry etc. I'm not that wild about that particular brand of sake (sorry; I forget the name but it's all over) but that does seem like a good idea.

←

Those sakes are from SakeOne, an US based sakery.

http://www.sakeone.com/

Cheers,

AzianBrewer

[AzianBrewer]

I think it is pretty lame to infuse or mix sake with fruit, vegetable or syrup (Just my opinion). If you do, please use the cheap stuff like Ozeki and leave the premium sake for sipping. On the other hand soju and shochu are better for mixing. One of the most popular among shochu drinks is chu-hai. Part juice or tea mixing with shochu.

Edited January 10, 2006 by AzianBrewer (log)

[LycheeLover]

Yes. Try the "Blushing Buddha", which tastes like heaven!!! I had it at a Lichido party in Soho last week. It had sake and Lichido Liqueur (and maybe vodka too? I don't know). It was really good.

[JayBassin]

My favorite is 3 parts iced gin (or vodka), 1 part iced sake, splash of juice from Japanese pickled ginger (maybe 1/2 tsp per martini glass), a few leaves of pickled ginger, and one pickled plum.

[Brigit Binns]

Does anyone know of contemporary recipes for a "Cucumber Cooler" or a "Ginger Cocktail"?

The first should have either cucumer-infused sake or muddled cucumber. It's topped up with soda. Use a blender to grind up cucumber if you don't have two weeks to infuse? Then, strain it out, or include some pulp in highball glass?

I believe the Ginger Cocktail has sake, ginger, and mint.

This is for an entertaining book - I'd be most obliged.

Edited June 24, 2006 by Brigit Binns (log)

[ChrisTaylor]

Bump aimed at Rafa, Adam George, Hass, Jo & etc. I want to experiment with sake cocktails. Most I've seen online, tho', sound sweet. Fruity and sweet, sweet, sweet. I'm not calling for a 2 ounces of bitters-fuelled extravaganza but something that's not a sugar fest would be appreciated. The savouriness of sake makes me wonder if it could work as a sub, with some tinkering to make up for its subtler flavour, for fino sherry.

[Rafa]

Try it in a Bamboo riff with fino or Manzanilla and Ango and/or orange bitters.

Dry sakes are excellent in drinks with canteloupe or other flavorful melon juice, but that's a bit out of season.

I've experimented with sakes in aromatic wine-accented sours (a la Corpse Reviver, 20th Century, etc) and think this is a good avenue for further experimentation. So far I've had good results with aromatic white spirits like Pisco/Singani, Solbeso, apricot eau de vie, Flor de Caña, etc.

[EvergreenDan]

...drinks with canteloupe or other flavorful melon juice, but that's a bit out of season.

Midori is always in season.