Photos: Yang Hui/GT and courtesy of He Wen
One good thing about the sweltering summer heat is it's a great excuse to enjoy a refreshing seasonal cocktail. But rather than straying from the cool comfort of your air conditioner, why not mix up a drink at home? It's also an incentive to stock up your drinks cabinet, and explore further than tried-and-tested favorites such as mojito, margarita and martini. Check out the following six recipes, which the Global Times elicited from creative bartenders around town.
Absolute Chongming
Features:
Sweet rice wine from Chongming Island, with aromatic osmanthus syrup and a fresh fruity taste
Ingredients:
Chongming rice wine, osmanthus syrup, fresh lemon juice, pear vodka, peach
Method:
Add 2/3 ounce osmanthus syrup to a highball glass, then cover it with 1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice, and stir well. The volumes of the syrup and lemon juice can be reduced or increased to taste
Fill the glass with 2 ounces Chongming rice wine and then 1 ounce pear vodka
Add ice and pour mixture into a shaker, shake vigorously for a few seconds
Pour the well-mixed drink into an enameled iron cup. This will be cooled by the drink faster than a glass would
Impale a slice of peach on a stick of bamboo as ornamentation. Stand the bamboo stick in the drink and serve
Ginseng Gin & Tonic
Features:
Classic gin and tonic reinforced with the freshness of key lime and the slight bitterness of ginseng
Ingredients:
Beefeater gin, key lime, ginseng, tonic water
Method:
You will need to prepare the gin well in advance. Place four pieces of ginseng in the gin, leave to steep for at least two weeks
Prepare a highball glass and add ice to it
Add 1 to 1.5 ounces of the ginseng-infused gin. Top the glass up with tonic water, stir
Garnish the drink with a key lime and serve
The two recipes above were provided by He Wen, bar manager of Yuan Oyster & Cocktail Lounge (17-2 Xiangyang Road North, 6433-0538)
Batanga
Features:
Popular Mexican drink with a refreshing lime zing
Ingredients:
100 percent agave tequila, coke, lime
Method:
Use lime peel to wet the rim of the glass. Dip the rim in salt to coat
Add juice of one lime, then 1 ounce of agave tequila
Fill the glass with ice and coke
Add a few grains of salt to the surface of the drink, stir and serve
GT One
Features:
Aromatic and strong, with a bittersweet taste
Ingredients:
Tanqueray dry gin, Aperol aperitif, Jim Beam rye whiskey, elderflower syrup, Angostura bitter
Method:
Add ice to a martini glass and stir. Leave the glass to chill
Meanwhile, to a lowball glass, add 2 ounces Tanqueray, 3/4 ounce Jim Beam, 3/4 ounce Aperol, and 1/3 ounce elderflower syrup
Pour into a shaker with ice and shake for a couple of seconds
Remove the ice from the martini glass. Pour in the mixed drink through a hawthorne strainer
Add two drops of Angostura bitter
Squeeze a piece of lime peel into the drink, wipe the rim of the glass with the peel and serve
The two recipes above were provided by Jake Peña, co-founder and bartender of Pocho Social Club (376 Jianguo Road West, 5419-8727)
Ginger Mule
Features:
A new breed of the classic Mexican Mule, with an extra twist of ginger
Ingredients:
Vodka, ginger root, ginger beer/ginger ale, lemon, lime, Angostura bitter
Method:
Prepare ginger-infused vodka by soaking ginger root in vodka for three days before use
Squeeze four lemon wedges and one lime. Pour the juice into an enameled iron cup
Add three drops of Angostura bitter
Add 2 ounces of ginger-infused vodka
Add ice and pour in ginger beer/ale until the glass is full
Rub the rim of the cup with a slice of ginger and serve
Dadaism
Features:
A refreshing combination of mint, cucumber, lemon and apple
Ingredients:
Rum, juice of 1/2 lemon, lemongrass, cucumber, mint, triple sec liqueur, apple juice
Method:
Prepare lemongrass-infused rum by soaking sliced lemongrass in rum for two weeks before use
Put two slices of cucumber and five mint leaves into a highball glass and smash them with a muddler
Add 1.3 ounces lemongrass-infused rum, 2/3 ounce triple sec liqueur, juice of 1/2 lemon and then 1.3 ounces apple juice
Pour all the ingredients in the cup into the shaker with ice and shake vigorously for a couple of seconds
Pour the cocktail into a liqueur glass, garnish it with mint leaves and serve
The two recipes above were provided by Wang Shuai, co-founder of Mr. Shaker (No.1, Lane 229 Danshui Road, 187-2120-5453)