The following is an extended version of the article that appears in our August 2022 issue.
Hatch Local's Blue Chesapeake cocktail, at right (Photo courtesy Hatch Local)
Sake can totally blow your mind. Such is the case at Longoven, where, if put under the animated guidance of Wine Director Grayum Vickers, you may find yourself sipping a beverage that drinks like liquified cumulus clouds. Most Japanese restaurants serve a few options that pair with sushi, but exploring sakes province by province, grade by grade, is how imbibers can truly start to understand its potential. With a grain-based starch-to-sugar alcohol conversion similar to beer, sake has recently become an innovative ingredient used by bartenders.
For Appearances Sake
At Heritage, the For Appearances Sake cocktail has miso in it — yes, fermented bean paste. And it works. Salty umami flows through a deliciously strong, round base of Suntory Japanese whisky, acidified coconut and a “cloudy” Nigori sake.
1 1/2 ounces acidified vanilla coconut milk
2 bar spoons miso tincture (a blend of a neutral spirit and miso paste)
1 1/2 ounces Toki Japanese whiskey
3/4 ounce Nigori unfiltered sake
Shake all ingredients and serve over crushed ice. Top with freshly grated nutmeg and an edible flower.
Strange Behaviors
Chartreuse plays an interesting game with sake in Longoven’s Strange Behaviors, a clear (even the ice cube is transparent) sipper that tells stories as the layers cross the palate. Ostervit, coconut fat-washed rum and a hint of Ancho Reyes ensure that guests end up on vacation.
1 bar spoon Ancho Reyes Chili Liqueur
1/4 ounce Toasted Coconut Fat Washed El Dorado 3-Year Rum
1/2 ounce Haku vodka
3/4 ounce Ostervit
3/4 ounce yellow chartreuse
3/4 ounce sake
Combine ingredients, stir with ice until ice cold and well-diluted. Strain over king cube. Garnish with lemon twist.
Blue Chesapeake
Coconut and sake partner well, and the Blue Chesapeake at Hatch Local exploits that with both Bacardi Coconut and coconut water. This tropical beauty is perfectly bittersweet, with a blue Curacao citrus tang, lemon bitters and a punch-like cardamom finish.
1 1/2 ounces Bacardi Coconut
1 1/2 ounces dry sake
1/2 ounce blue Curacao
1 ounce coconut water
3 dashes cardamom tincture (recipe below)
3 dashes Fee Bros lemon bitters
6 dashes citric acid solution (recipe below)
Mix ingredients and top with soda.
Citric Acid Solution
40 grams citric acid powder
12 ounces hot water
Stir ingredients and combine.
Cardamom Tincture
100 grams green cardamom pods
750 milliliters high-proof vodka or rum
Steep for 24 hours, strain.
Rosie the Riveter
A floral sake-based concoction from Osaka
2 ounces chilled sake
1/4 ounce elderflower liqueur
1/2 ounce lemon juice
1/2 ounce rose syrup
Soda water
Combine the first four ingredients and top with soda. Serve in coupe with a flower garnish.
Saketinis are simple, elegant combinations of sake and ice-cold vodka, gin or plum wine, plus a touch of fruit if you’re so inclined. Level garnishes theirs with toothpick-spiked lychee fruits, which soak up the gentle sake flavors for a lush, floral-sweet bite.
Sake Bottle Service: Akida, Fighting Fish, Longoven, Takara Ramen and Wild Ginger
