Isn’t Sibilance Satisfying…… There is something about the repetition of ‘s’ that just makes things so appealing, kind of like SoooooSssssie.
But more appealing is this drink. As you know, I love to take a concept and approach it from a different angle. Here, I wanted to develop a Sake Based Cocktail. The Sweet, Floral nature of Rose needed to be lifted with a touch of acidity. Rather than venture down the conventional citrus route, I chose to explore different avenues.
Sumac Berries glean their sour taste from acids that coat the fruit, they are fresh, bright and mouth puckeringly tart. Combined with a crisp Sake, Gin, and Sweet Rose, this is the ultimate summer refresher.
This Relies on a decoction to extract the essence from the Sumac to provide the freshest flavour.
I would opt for a floral based gin, or even one with an underlying note of Elderflower. If you have access to fresh Sumac Berries, try to gather them before a rainfall as this will wash the acid from the fruit.
Ingredients:
Sumac Syrup:
240g Water
240g Caster Sugar
2 tbsp Dried Sumac/ 150g Dried Sumac Berries
Spritz:
25ml Gin
25ml Sumac Syrup
2 Drops Rose Water
50ml Sake
Soda Water to top up
Method:
1. Begin with the Sumac Syrup. Add the water, sugar & sumac to a small pan and bring to a boil. Simmer for 3-5 minutes or until syrupy.
2. Allow to cool to room temperature and infuse before staring through a muslin. Try not to squeeze the solids in the muslin as this will turn your syrup cloudy.
3. Once strained, decant into a sterile bottle and store in the fridge for 2 months (although it won’t last that long!)
4. Combine the Gin, Sumac Syrup, Rose Water & Sake in a cocktail shaker filled with ice.
5. Shake for 30 seconds to chill then pour into a champagne flute.
6. Top with Soda and Serve.