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As we all do our part and practice social distancing by staying at home, there’s truly no better time for us to hone new skills, discover new drams & more importantly, elevate our cocktail game!
Last week, we covered elevated Gin & Tonics.
Today, we’re delving into the nuanced world of Japanese Cocktails, with…
Our Maison favourite; Nikka.
One of the most common misconceptions about cocktails is that they have to be done a certain way. Obviously, this applies if you are a bartender who has spent years studying & perfecting this art, however, if you’re doing it at home, the most important part of any cocktail is to make sure you’re enjoying it, so drink it the way you enjoy it most!
NIKKA SOUR
We’re taking our DIY Home Cocktails up a notch with the Nikka Sour.
But first, what is a sour?
A sour belongs to one of the old, original cocktail families & is typically comprised of a base alcohol, lemon or lime juice, and a sweetener. Egg whites are also included in some sours.
Today, since we’re making a whisky sour, we’ll definitely be using egg whites. Pro-tip: wash your eggs first before cracking them open!
The ingredients:
- 60ml of Nikka from the Barrel (get you some of that sweet, light hints of smokiness)
- 25ml fresh lemon juice
- 20ml simple syrup (if you don’t have any, boil some water, use a 1:1 ratio for sugar & water. Stir and voila! Simple syrup!)
- 1 dash of cocktail bitters (we recommend trying the Japanese Bitters Yuzu flavoured, in keeping with the Japanese theme, otherwise, just add a dash of Angostura if you’ve got that lying around, or whatever bitters you have on hand is also fine, go ham. It’s your cocktail!)
- An egg for the egg white (don’t forget to wash the egg well!)
Incorporate the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Since you’re DIY-ing this at home, if you don’t have a cocktail shaker, try using a blender bottle – not only great for protein shakes, but now, also great for your whisky sours!
Shake shake shake! Shake shake shake! Shake your booty while you’re at it!
Now, for the grand finale, strain it into a chilled cocktail glass, or pour it out over ice. Who’s gonna judge?
OLD FASHIONED COFFEY MALT
Now, the Old Fashioned is one of those classic cocktails that everyone knows of. The quintessential whisky cocktail; when done right, nothing is more heavenly. When done wrong? It could turn anyone off whisk(e)y for good!
The trick to getting the Old Fashioned just right? Confidence.
And the right amount of ingredients + stirring.
Now, do you have a glass? Do you have a spoon? Do you have a sugar cube?
If you don’t, don’t worry. Remember that simple syrup we made earlier, yea… We’re gonna use it again!
The ingredients:
- 60ml Nikka Coffey Malt
- 1 piece of brown sugar (5ml of simple syrup, or to taste. Again, it’s your cocktail!)
- 3 dashes of cocktail bitters (traditionally, Angostura is used, but this is a Old-Fashioned Coffey Malt, so use your imagination & discretion; although we recommend the Florita Bitters Bitter Orange)
- Orange zest
Now, rub the piece of sugar against the orange skin to extract its natural oils.
Pour the dashes of cocktail bitters over the sugar and muddle in the glass.
Too complicated? No worries.
In your glass, add the dashes of bitters. Add the simple syrup. Add your whisky, fill to the brim with ice cubes & stir. Stirring is essential; you want to incorporate all the ingredients together well, otherwise the bitters are going to sit on top, the whisky in the middle and the sugar is going to rest at the bottom, because that’s just science, and if you think that tastes horrible, Ma’am, you are right.
So make sure you stir! How do you know if you’ve stirred enough? Well, stir for 30seconds first, taste it. If you like how it tastes, go ahead and drink. If you don’t, stir it until you like it.
Congratulations, you’ve made an Old Fashioned!
Now, for the orange zest!
The gif above is to illustrate how the oils are expressed from the zest of the orange –you do not actually need to do this over or anywhere near an open flame. Instead, just express the oils over the top of your Old Fashioned by squeezing the peel between your fingers, ala the gif above!
Before we dive into our last cocktail, we’re going to talk to you first, you: the die-hard, neat whisky drinkers.
We’re often told that whiskies, especially nice whiskies, should always be drunk neat… At LMDW, we always tell people who ask us this that whisky is to be drank however you enjoy it.
Join LMDW’s expert, Salvatore Mannino, as he explains how he became converted away from the hard, “no ice, no water” rule.
Also, this is a little spoiler for the next cocktail, a variation of the tradition Japanese Mizuwari.
COCO-WARI
Now that you’ve flexed those cocktail making muscles, let’s do something simple: with access to fresh coconuts + coconut water, Singapore’s the perfect place to try this summer-time version of the traditional Japanese Mizuwari.
Traditionally comprised of whisky and mineral water, the “Coco-wari” uses coconut water for its refreshing properties and is a perfect match for the Nikka Coffey Grain whisky’s sweet and tropical profile.
The ingredients:
- 50ml Nikka Coffey Grain
- 150ml Coconut water
Pour the whisky into a highball glass: if you want to be extra fancy, you can pre-chill the glass in your freezer. Fill the glass with ice & stir to chill the whisky (approximately 5 stirs should do it!) Top off with coconut water & stir again. Remember, it’s important to make sure your ingredients are incorporated!
Today, we’ll end the DIY cocktail section with this question:
James Bond liked his martinis shaken & not stirred; however, lots of bartenders stir martinis instead. Why?
If you want to get the answer to this, or to ask us more questions about your cocktails, feel free to reach out to us on Instagram @maison_du_whisky_singapore, or E-mail us at customersupport@whisky.sg
Nikka Coffey Grain
FOR THOSE WHO’D LIKE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT JAPANESE BARTENDING
ABOUT NIKKA
Masataka Taketsuru – commonly known as the Father of Japanese Whisky – founded Nikka and opened his first distillery, Yoichi, in 1934. In a small, eponymous coastal town in Hokkaido, the man who forever changed the Japanese whisky landscape built his first distillery in a location that would benefit from a cold, austere climate and local peat bogs. These were originally the source of Yoichi’s peaty notes, while the salty sea breeze left its imprint on these whiskies’ undeniable character.
Today, Nikka is renown globally; the unique flavour profiles of Nikka linger, from the soon to be discontinued Taketsuru aged statements, to the home bar essential single malts, Yoichi & Miyagikyo, to the innovative Nikka Coffey range comprising of malt and grain whiskies, as well as vodka & gin, distilled in the Coffey still.
Shop the full range from us, Nikka’s official Singapore importers today!
Don’t forget to make use of code FREESHIPPING for free, island wide delivery & happy gin & tonic-ing!
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