By DCist Contributor Nathan Wilkinson
With so many good international restaurants in D.C. there’s a plethora of appropriate cocktails to pair. Whether it’s a fusion of East Asian or Mesoamerican spirits with European aperitifs, or a debut of new fruit juices, garnishes, and infusions, you’re likely to find flavor combinations unlike anything you can get at your typical Americana restaurants.
Our world tour begins at Daikaya (705 6th Street NW) where beverage manager Jamie MacBain invited me to taste the Japanese whiskeys and shochus he’s offering as part of a bottle keep promotion.
“Shochu is a Japanese distilled product that can be made out of almost any starch,” he says. Rice, barley, sweet potatoes, aloe, brown sugar, sesame seeds, barley, black rice—these are only a few of the shochu bases that you will find on Daikaya’s shelves. A sort of diluted moonshine that’s produced with koji mold spores like sake, these liquors are totally different from any other spirit, and each one is different from the next. These clear spirits run the gamut of flavors from dry and earthy to sweet and fruity. For a discount, Daikaya patrons can buy a whole bottle of shochu or Japanese whiskey that will be kept for three months behind the bar, exclusively for their consumption. Not a bad idea given the scarcity of high quality Japanese whiskey.
MacBain uses the versatility of shochu in all of his specialty cocktails—I’m a big fan of the Sesame Street. For this he combines Beni Otome sesame shochu, the tartness of Yuzu juice, ginger beer, and an angostura bitters float in a tulip glass. But don’t let the cute name and small glass fool you. This drink packs a flavorful punch. The Yuzu is both bitter and sour, the shochu dark and brooding. “That’s really a unisex drink because of the layer of bitters,” says MacBain. “I get guys who order Sesame Street and see the small glass and think they won’t like it, but once they try it they want more and more.” For a sipping cocktail akin to a clear Old Fashioned, try the King Of The Monsters. Served with a Godzilla-sized ice cube, it’s a bitter and winey tasting drink made with Nishiyoshida roasted barley shochu, Cocchi Americano aperitif, and Chinese five spice bitters.
A couple of barreled cocktails that caught my eye with their fusion of southwest and European liquors. The first is the batched EL Lobo at Barrel (613 Pennsylvania Avenue SE). It is made with Montalobos Mescal, Liquor 43, Bonal (a French bitter aperitif) and topped with a dash of cherry bitters. It starts out smoky and rich with mescal flavor, but as the single ice cube melts, it softens to the sweeter taste of an after dinner brandy cordial with hints of dried cherry.
Second, the Spaghetti Western at Casa Luca (1099 New York Avenue NW) pays tribute to the western-style movies made in southern Italy in the ’60s and ’70s. Bartender Robin Miller describes the aging process: “The rye is first infused with blood oranges, cranberries and bay leaves for about two weeks. Then it is barreled with the Italian artichoke aperitif, Cynar and orange bitters for several more weeks,” he says. The result is a bright red whiskey drink, served chilled and up, that teeters on the edge of gin flavors for its spiciness and drinkability. “Infusing the rye really rounds out the flavor of Bullet,” says Miller, who credits the world class kitchen staff at Casa Luca for suggesting the bay leaves, commonly found in Italian dishes, as one of the ingredients in the infusion. Get a full-size cocktail for $18 dollars or try a short pour for only ten dollars.
You can make an East meets West drink at home with this version of the International Cocktail: It’s a French and Russian fusion that is heavy on flavor and alcohol:
- 2 oz. cognac
- 1 oz. Russian vodka
- 1/4 oz. absinthe
- 1/2 oz. triple sec
Rinse a chilled cocktail glass in absinthe. Shake all ingredients except absinthe in a shaker full of ice and strain into the glass.
