So during my roundtable with HighBall bartenders earlier this month, I asked them, “Is it only bartenders who use this sort of thing?” And the answer, given with kind of a sheepish chuckle, was pretty much yes.
Mandarin Hide’s Courtney Tonge made a culinary analogy: “It’s kind of like, when I make dinner, I’m gonna cook mac and cheese and garbage food because I have no idea how to do it, but my boyfriend is a chef. He’ll buy ingredients I don’t know what to do with.”
And in many cases, the exotic ingredients you see on many cocktail menus or recipes aren’t available to us common folk for the simple reason that the bartender made them up.
Like the Chinese five-spice ginger syrup conjured up by Chris Fasick in the accompanying recipe, inventing new flavor combos is all part of the fun of professional mixology these days.
“You make a new kind of simple syrup you’ve never made,” says District Tavern’s Ryan Fitzgerald, “and then you have one more ingredient you never had before.”
One more tool in the toolbox, one more color in the palette — and one more way to get curious folks like me to order your drinks. PS: Falernum is, according to Imbibe magazine, “a cordial made from an infusion of citrus, spices, nuts and sugar” — and if wanted to, I could make it myself.
Nah.
High Five
Makes 1
Chinese Five-Spice Ginger Syrup:
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1-inch fresh ginger, sliced
1 tablespoon Chinese five-spice powder
In a small saucepan, add water and bring to boil. Add sugar and stir to dissolve. Add ginger and five-spice powder. Stir while boiling for 1-2 minutes. Allow to cool. Store refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 1 month.
Cocktail:
2 ounces rum (we used 10 Cane)
4 ounces fresh orange juice
1 ounce Chinese five-spice ginger syrup
1 ounce cream of coconut
3 dashes orange bitters
1 egg white (optional but recommended)
In a cocktail shaker, add all ingredients. (No ice!) Shake for 15-30 seconds, or until the mixture begins to froth. Add ice and shake again until well-chilled. Strain into a tiki glass filled with ice. Garnish with an orange wedge.
This article appears in Jan 26 – Feb 2, 2017.