opinionated alchemist

via GIPHY om/gifs/rooster-teeth-xoUiNjrK8iHwA">via GIPHY I am not a big fan of using a lot of crazy ingredients. Well - this isn't completely true - it is more the random use of crazy ingredients. Rizki, one of my head bartenders and me were discussing today the cocktail for a competition. He had the brilliant idea to use lotus leaf (which is very vegetal but rather very delicate) - and he also opted for gin and for pomelo. We discussed to do a lotus leaf liqueur and use "soured pomelo juice" - and the whole drink supposed to be a type of collins. It turned to be a pretty nice drink - however it lacked something special. It was all pretty bright, acidic and citrus'y - with underlying aromas of the gin (Bombay Sapphire). So we discussed to use the peel of pomelo to enhance the lotus leaf liqueur. However this wasn't enough. I don't really know anymore how it happened, but suddenly I remembered that Mezcal producer in Mexico are producing a...

Another new drink, to be featured in Blue Jade - the amazing Pan Asian restaurant in the Ritz Carlton Dubai... The Gin 'n Tonic is one very popular drink in Dubai. Yeah - here are a lot of Brits. But it is also a really great drink - and it defies very much the heat! For Blue Jade I wanted to break with the normal highball procedure, and really wanted to shake a drink up. As I reviewed East Imperial before, and titled it "not a lazy bartender tonic", I thought it will work as ingredients far better than any other tonic. It has some medium sweetness - however no acidity, which we will anyway apply with some fresh citrus juice... There is some muddled lemongrass [yeah - I don't usually like to muddle, but lemongrass just usually taste not that great, if used differently] - but the game changer is here the house crafted pandan syrup. It just brings the whole G&T into the East! The Jade Gin 'n Tonic We didn't only called it Jade G and T because of...

People who are following this blog - or simply know me, predict that I am not so keen on vodka. Yeah - as many other craft bartenders, I do think, that vodka is the lazy bartender spirit, - that it makes ok, but never great drinks; - that it should not have been ever invented... Sounds extreme? I know! But reality is, that guests are asking for vodka drinks and they sell. Yeah- not because vodka is convincing due to its quality - but because the producing/distribution companies are spending millions and billions into the product positioning, marketing, bribing [well... go figure]. And sometimes, you just can't fight against windmills - can you? One thing, which I really like to bring forward, was the Blue Jade beverage program. Blue Jade is the Pan Asian restaurant at the Ritz Carlton Dubai - and they have a great reputation within the Dubai dining scene. And point is: it is kinda fun to play with a specific concept, with specific constraints and expectations. In the fo...