Cocktails that prove sake is a brilliant base spirit!
There is a surprising elegance to sake. The traditional Japanese alcoholic beverage is often mistakenly called “rice wine,” yet it is actually closer to beer in its making—a delicate fermentation of rice, water, yeast and a magical mold called koji. Sake tastes subtle, clean with whispers of fruit flavor and a hint of gentle umami without the sharp acidity of wine or the burn of a spirit. And it is low in alcohol by volume. This inherent versatility makes it the perfect base for cocktails, able to seamlessly blend into everything from bright and citrusy to complex and herbaceous.
At Omakase Table, Beverage Director Garn McCown designed the new cocktail program to enable each handcrafted drink to stand on its own while remaining delicate enough to complement a meal. “Just like the rest of the omakase experience, each drink is the result of thoughtful research and development,” he says. “Sake-based cocktails offer a range of possibilities for delicate and nuanced cocktails while also offering a slightly lower alcohol alternative as a base for my creations.”
The whimsical Koneko, translating to “cat” in Japanese, starts light and vibrant with a backbone of Sake Ono that is strengthened by renowned bartender Shingo Gokan’s Mugi Shochu. It has vibrant peach and floral notes, a bit of acidity from yuzu and lemon zest, and a touch of bitter orange from what McCown describes as “a whisper of Aperol.”
The Minori is a vibrant and refreshing combination of a classic highball and an elevated cucumber sake-tini. McCown combines Soke Ono and Roku Monori Gin with fino sherry and blanc vermouth. The cocktail is built in a glass then force carbonated for effervescence. Peach and melon notes from the gin gently mix with sake as well as a house made cucumber-shiso soda.
To supplement the menus of innovative Japanese cuisine, Westside restaurant O-Ku has a long list of sake expressions featuring bottles characterized by their dominant flavors and texture. From clean and aromatic to rich and earthy, the list is a fun way to get to know sake. Bar lead Fabricio Andrade says his philosophy begins with skillful execution of the basics and then isolating a standout ingredient and replacing it with a complementary regional or seasonal ingredient. In that scenario, sake plays well.
In the gimlet-like Saint Miyako, he incorporates sake along with traditional gin, St. Germain and cucumber for the refreshing sipper. He uses Koji Sake, a premium variety that is smooth and full bodied. The Smokin’ in Shibuya cocktail is a bit more complex, using Suigei Tokubetsu “Drunken Whale” Sake, a light and floral junmai (pure) sake that has notes of salty sea air. Inspired by a margarita, the layered drink begins with smoky aromas followed by mango and stone fruit flavor. The sake, Andrade says, brings crisp sea salt notes, and the addition of mezcal adds heat to the dynamic yet balanced cocktail.
Brush Sushi has a detailed menu of dozens of sake organized by style and available by the glass or bottle and in thoughtfully composed flights. The Across the Universe cocktail has become a guest favorite, incorporating rye, strawberry scented sake and umeshu, a Japanese liqueur made from steeping plums. It is dramatically presented under a cedar, smoke-filled dome that adds aroma and flavor, and brings out the strawberry in the sake.
The cocktail Sarutobii integrates Oishii Nigori, a cloudy sake, with tequila, bergamot, chile liqueur, banana, orgeat and lemon with a Tajin rim. With a name translating to “monkey jump” in Japanese, it is as balanced and fun as a Mai Tai but also restrained and delicate in a way that only a bartender who understands sake could create.
BRUSH SUSHI
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@brushatl
O-KU
o-kusushi.com
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OMAKASE TABLE
omakasetable.atl.com
@omakasetable.atl
