If you walked into a bar and asked for an Asian cocktail you’d probably get a blank stare from the bartender. It’s about as vague a request as asking for an “American” cocktail. But if you mention a classic by name—like the Singapore Sling—or mention that you’d like a cocktail that uses Asian ingredients, such as ginger or lychees, you’re likely to get a nod of recognition.
Asian cocktails are both old and new: they are classic, the familiar exotic and the newest taste sensation. In this collection of recipes you’ll find cocktails such as the Japanese Cocktail, Bamboo Cocktail and Singapore Sling that date to the Golden Age of Cocktails (1860s to 1900) and to the Roaring Twenties. Some tropical rum-based classics, such as the Mai Tai and Scorpion, concocted sometime around the mid-twentieth century, are also included. (Since they’ve also made their way onto menus of Japanese steak houses and Chinese-American restaurants, how could we not include these Tiki Bar favorites?) These delicious oldies have names that evoke Asia and some were even created in Asia, but most don’t have a single Asian ingredient in them.
It’s taken a new generation of mixologists, many working behind bars in Asian restaurants or restaurants that feature Asian ingredients, to create cocktails that are more genuinely Asian than the exotic sounding drinks of yesteryear. The increased interest in Asian cuisines in the West has spilled over from the kitchen to the bar, where cocktails are often created to pair with the food being served. As a result some of the most interesting Asian cocktails are now being created in restaurant bars where the relationship between the bartender (bar “chef”) and kitchen chef is symbiotic, and where the bartender has ready access to lots of fresh and dried Asian ingredients—from spices to fruits and herbs. The majority of the cocktails in Asian Cocktails, some created especially for this book, are examples of the new Asian cocktail.
Whether putting an Asian spin on a classic cocktail, such as the Jujube Manhattan, or creating a new drink altogether, there are a variety of ways that mixologists make a cocktail Asian. Some use Asian wines or liquors, such as sake, plum wine, shochu or Japanese whiskey while others infuse a Western liquor, usually vodka, with an Asian ingredient and use that as the basis for a unique cocktail. Others may use Asian mixers or other flavoring components, such as mango juice, Calpico, lychees, fresh Thai basil, fresh lemongrass, chiles or fresh ginger with Western or Asian wines or liquors.
As when making any cocktail, using good quality liquor and fresh ingredients is key. The balance of sweet and sour in relation to the liquor is the typical driver of flavor, though other flavors, like bitter (via “bitters”) and spicy or piquant flavors, can add magic to the balance. Bitters are the umami of the bar—used in the same way a cook may use a small amount of fish sauce or anchovies to add nuance that’s hard to pinpoint but noticeably lacking when absent. Just a couple of drops of these potent flavoring agents are used to give depth and interest to cocktails. Bitters also add a counterpoint to liqueurs, fruits, syrups or other sweet ingredients, sometimes working along with sour citrus to do this. As the interest in well-crafted and vintage cocktails rises, old brands/recipes of bitters are being resurrected and new ones are being created. Orange bitters, which is used periodically in this book, is infused with orange peel and spices. Aromatic bitters, such as Angostura, tend to be bolder and more complex, with greater amounts of cinnamon, clove and anise.
Whereas bitters have long been used in the West in cocktails, spice is a relatively new phenomenon introduced via Asian cocktails, where spicy ginger or chiles add a noticeable kick to drinks—adjusted, of course, to personal taste. And while salt, the last of the five basic taste sensations, is not normally included in cocktails, except to rim a margarita, it is used to heighten flavor in the distinctive Silk Road, Nashi Cocktail and Little Tokyo Cooler—much in the way a pinch of salt is used in baking.
HOW TO USE THIS BOOK
If Asian cocktails haven’t found their way into your neighborhood bar/restaurant bar, you can easily make them at home using the recipes in this book—once you stock your bar and pantry with some basic equipment and ingredients. The sections at the beginning of the book— “Glassware,” “Stocking the Bar,” and “Tools and Techniques”—will help you set up a basic bar and teach you the techniques you’ll need to craft a cocktail. The recipes in “Syrups and Infused Spirits” are the jumping-off point for many great cocktails. When making cocktails using infused spirits remember to plan ahead as most infusions take an average of two or three days, and some longer, to make. Syrups can be prepared very quickly— they only need sufficient time to cool before using.
While the focus of this book is on the use of fresh ingredients, there are a variety of new flavored vodkas and liqueurs on the market with Asian flavors: Pama (pomegranate), Zen (green tea), SoHo (lychee), Hangar One vodka (kaffir lime), to name a few. We’ve included a handful of drinks that use some of these high-quality products as they need only be shaken or stirred with one or two other ingredients to create a cocktail. This is worth considering when you are entertaining and need to make several drinks quickly.
The final chapter includes nonalcoholic drinks and bar snacks, which provide good options for satisfying every taste and level of hunger when entertaining. The resource guide will help you track down hard-to-find ingredients and the index will help you to cross-reference specific ingredients to maximize their use while they’re fresh.
Most of all we hope you have fun using this book and introducing your friends to the great flavor of Asian cocktails—both classic and new.