I made even more cocktails from Asian Cocktails. (Part I, Part II.)
This time, I made some cocktails with whiskey and brandy. Not exactly two of my favorite spirits, but these looked interesting.
The first one I tried was called “Milk and Honey,” and it involved figs, of all things.
Milk and Honey
20 ml hot milk
20 ml honey
1 fig
0.5 oz lime juice
1.75 oz whiskey
fig quarter
The way you make this is by dissolving the honey in the hot milk, and then muddling the fig in that mixture. Then the other ingredients go in with some ice, so that the drink ends up being cold. The recipe actually calls for single malt whiskey, but I cheated and used blended scotch whiskey (Johnnie Walker), since that’s what I had on hand. I probably couldn’t even tell the difference, anyway.
This was surprisingly good for a drink that was mostly whiskey. The honey and fig added a really nice sweetness, with acidity from the lime juice. If I were making this again, though, I think I would reduce the amount of whiskey in it. Certainly the first time I’ve ever put figs into a cocktail.
Next, I tried the Mikado, since it sounded Japanese.
Mikado
1.75 oz brandy
1/2 teaspoon Cointreau
1/2 teaspoon orgeat syrup
1 teaspoon creme de noyaux
dash of Angoustra bitters
I should’ve listened when they said “This dry cocktail is not for imbibers with a sweet tooth.” I am definitely an imbiber with a sweet tooth. The small amount of syrup and creme de noyaux didn’t really do much for the sweetness. I could definitely taste the almond flavor, but it was mostly just alcoholic-tasting. Apparently, there’s not really anything Japanese about this cocktail; it was named after the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta.
The next one attracted me because it had lychee in it.
Lychee Alexander
1.25 oz brandy
0.5 oz lychee syrup
0.25 oz simple syrup
0.25 oz lychee liqueur
1 oz milk
lychee
I changed the recipe from the book a little, since I didn’t have the same lychee syrup they use (theirs is lychees and their syrup blended, then mixed with simple syrup). So I just used the syrup from the can, with a bit of simple syrup. It’s probably close enough. I also used milk instead of heavy cream, since I didn’t have heavy cream on hand. Plus, I don’t think I would feel very comfortable drinking straight heavy cream. I could taste the lychee flavor in this drink, but I wanted more of it. I’d probably put in more lychee syrup and liqueur next time, since I think it actually kind of goes well with the milk. Sort of like lychee milk tea, but with alcohol.
Apparently, the way to make whiskey and brandy more palatable is milk. And sugar.