1.5 oz Suntory Toki Japanese Whisky
marc rizzuto Spring/summer 2023
0.5 oz Motoko Shochu
1 tsp Massenez Creme de Fraise Liqueur
0.5 tsp Matchbook Late Embers Sunchoke EDV
1 tsp Honey Syrup
1 dash The Japanese Bitters Umami
Method: stir/strain
Glassware: old fashioned
Ice: block
Garnish: none
Grilled mushrooms with fruit was becoming a late spring/early summer side dish I enjoyed cooking. It all started by tasting this mushroom dish at Lilia. This dish was simplicity at it’s finest. King trumpet mushrooms sliced with the right thickness, seared and drizzled with Massimo Bottura’s balsamic vinegar from Modena. I enjoy ALL mushrooms. This dish quickly became one of my favorite to replicate at home. I started playing around with grilling different fruits with the mushrooms, mainly berries to replicate the rich acidity of the balsamic. I tried raw fruit in a salad with the grilled shrooms and it also tasted lovely.
Come time for the Spring/Summer R&D and I was itching to replicate this grilled mushroom and fruit combo. I thought a savory old fashioned riff with some bright fruit notes would be something intriguing for the old fashioned drinkers out there. We were using this 8 year Japanese Whisky that used koji in the fermentation process and that immediately drew me in to a koji/mushroom/fruit combo. Playing around with different Shochu, I finally landed on Motoko. This particular, female distilled, umami bomb has amazing woodsy mushroom notes. On first taste, I could picture myself foraging for mushrooms and sneaking a little nibble of the mushroom fresh from the earth.
We rarely used honey in cocktails and when we did, it was used improperly. Too runny and mild. Honey should be present and not just some substitution for simple syrup. If I read honey on any menu, drinks or food, I want to really taste it. Refer to my honey syrup recipe for more of my rant about honey.
Matchbook Late Embers is a smoked sunchoke and honey distillate reminiscent of Mezcal. Sunchoke’s are earthy, sweet and nutty. This well crafted distillate packs a huge punch of flavor with the trio of sunchoke, honey and koji. If you have been reading and paying attention to my method of cocktail creation, you should notice the layering of similar ingredients in different forms. What I mean by this is Motoko: koji, Late Embers: koji, honey, Japanese Bitters: shiitake mushroom, Takamine 8 yr: koji. If you are unfamiliar with koji I suggest nerding out on “Koji Alchemy.” Koji has a rich umami and nutty flavor profile with underlying sweetness. This in itself is the style of cocktail I was trying to achieve with the Wavy Cap.
Layering flavor with different types of distillates, syrups, bitters and liqueurs is a nice way to tease out that specific tasting note from the main ingredient you are trying to showcase. The strawberry component was originally an other worldly strawberry brandy from California. Ventura Spirits was producing a strawberry brandy, basically an eau de vie, with subtle notes of honey and a powerful fresh floral and juicy strawberry flavor. This stuff was a perfect representation of what strawberries taste like. It is unfortunate that it is no longer being produced. I tried some other strawberry distillates that we were able to source, but they all had a vanilla undertone that I was trying to avoid. In comes the trust worthy Massenez Liqueur’s. The Creme de Fraise has a nice jammy strawberry taste, subtle acidity, and a light floral bouquet. Being able to sneak acidity into a cocktail that does not require it will help balance some of the overtly sweet or savory ingredients.
This cocktail was ready for a final tasting. The two parts of the cocktail that changed during the R&D process were: the base spirit switched to Suntory Toki, and the honey changed from Italian chestnut honey to a clover honey. These were changed for more profit, my least favorite reasoning.
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