Arrive Magazine - July/August, 2009

“We’ve found a wonderful shochu with notes of sugar cane that we use to make a Japanese-style mojito.” Other sake-to-me cocktails at Megu draw inspiration from sparkling brews—which can be as e ervescent as Champagne—and nigori, an unfiltered sake that lends an unusual cloudiness to everything it touches. The restaurant uses the latter in its Royal Sakura, a blend of Snow Queen vodka, nigori and maraschino liqueur for a suggestion of cherry flavor, topped by the most fleetingly perfect of pale pink cherry blossoms, served in a traditional martini glass. As sake moves onto non-Japanese menus, the restaurants most likely to play with its possibilities are trendy Asian-fusion spots, tantalized by its mix of flexibility and exoticism. In Philadelphia, Buddakan’s White Peach Ginger Zen-gria is a zesty blend of Pinot Grigio, ginger brandy and sake, which gains fresh sweetness through peach purée and ginger-infused simple syrup. And at Pearl, also in Philadelphia, the house martini comes together courtesy of Pearl vodka, premium junmai sake and Lillet, tempered with aloe vera and kiwi, while the French Pear artfully combines Absolut Pears vodka, sake, St. Germain Elderflower liqueur and Bordeaux blanc. “Whenever I’m creating a sake cocktail, I’m really concerned about not overpowering the subtleness of the sake,” says Kevin Beary of Pearl. “Sake brings its own quality to a cocktail, and I ^want ^that ^flavor ^to ^come ^through.”

D.C.’s Sake Pick

A universal symbol of Japan,
cherry blossoms serve as the
inspiration for the Kyoto Collins
at the Blue Duck Tavern in Wash-
ington’s Park Hyatt Hotel. Try the
Kyoto Collins, a mix of 3 ounces of
sake, lime juice and a tea extract
made from cherry blossom leaves,
finished with splashes of simple
syrup and club soda. Later in
the summer, extracts made from
mango or green tea take over.

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