The Joy of Drinking: Meet the Cocktails: Japanese ingredients, California style at Pabu

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Meet the Cocktails: Japanese ingredients, California style at Pabu

Though I'm not Japanese, I grew up in Hawaii, a melting pot of people with a unique sway to Japanese culture and food. I spent my "small kid days," as they call them, eating comfort foods like spam musubis (spam laid over a bed of rice and wrapped with nori), melona bars, and oyako donburi (chicken and egg served over hot rice). On hot days, my summer fun friends and I would walk to the nearby Toyo Superette to buy Japanese candies and drinks, like cold Japanese sodas and soft Japanese gum.

There are two times I've been taken back to my childhood in Hawaii while tasting cocktails. The first was when I first tasted Chareau, the new aloe liqueur made in California. The second was tasting the cocktails at Pabu, Carlo Splendorini's new Japanese-inspired program.

I recently wrote a piece for Eater SF about the new bar in the SF's Financial District. See are additional pictures of the drinks and here some extra commentary from Josh:

A highlight of the Pabu menu is the highballs. Although these drinks are simple mixes of soda water and Japanese whiskey, they have a surprising subtlety. Carlo pulls out this subtlety by using house-made, flavored sodas––strawberry, yuzu, and shiso. These flavors complement the tasting notes in the whiskeys. Noelle's personal favorite was the strawberry, which I have to admit blew my mind as well. The strawberry is subtle, so subtle, in fact, that it can be hard to place. Nevertheless, it pulls out some berry notes in the whiskey that you'd otherwise miss.

The Fuzzy has a nice tart, and the spicy garnish on top of the drink adds a pleasant tingle to your lips. This drink matches nicely with food.

Carlo's play on the Ramos Gin Fizz, The Little Green Bag is the definition of instant gratification. The rich coconut fat makes you feel like you're getting all the richness of a Ramos, but without the heaviness of the lactose. The coconut also adds a nice nutiness. Think of a tropical Ramos.

Summer Cocktail. Sometimes served in a glass specially designed to spin the cocktail but not the ice, this cocktail is just fun. Not to mention tasty and easy drinking. Sake and strawberries go fantastically together, but what's more impressive is the strawberry vinegar. It reminds me of a shrub, but far less intense. So those of you who like just a bit of sour will love this drink.

Whiskey Ceremony is a bit pricey, but it's a nice treat for a special occasion. Carlo pairs each whiskey with a different fruit (usually infused with something else. The strawberry below, for example, is soaked in a special creme de cacao). The fruit is then charred and the glass imbued with the smoke. You nibble the fruit and sip on the whiskey, the flavors gradually melding together to create a unique drinking experience.