Happy yearof the cocktail!
Impress your friends during your Chinese New Year open house by making your own cocktails.
ARE you sick of drinking the same old soft drinks, beer, or shandy during Chinese New Year? Why not try making your own cocktails instead?
During a special workshop conducted by Rad Impressions recently, participants learnt how to make three specially designed Chinese New Year-themed cocktails using simple ingredients and tools that are easily available at any home.
Rad Impressions is a company that specialises in beverage education programmes, and organises bar courses, cocktail workshops for consumers, and even has its own Whisky Academy. It was co-founded by Shawn Chong, co-owner of specialty cocktail bar Omakase + Appreciate, which placed in the top 10 on the inaugural Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2016 list.
A three-time Malaysian winner of the Diageo World Class Reserve competition, Chong was the one who conducted the CNY cocktail workshop last week. Chong designed the three Chinese New Year cocktails to be very easy to make at home, and to prove that you don’t really need fancy equipment or ingredients to do your own bartending at home.
“All three cocktails are Chinese inspired, either in terms of the ingredients or in terms of the flavour. You can get all the ingredients for these drinks very easily from any supermarket,” said Chong.
The Pick A Date is a sweet and sour drink that has the savouriness of red dates, while the Dusky Daisy is a refreshing tipple that mixes tea with Scotch whisky and a local pandan-flavoured twist.
Last but not least, the Abundant Prosperity is inspired by and attempts to replicate the flavours of the mandarin orange.
According to him, most people have the misconception that making cocktails at home is a complicated process that requires fancy tools or ingredients.
“You don’t really need to buy fancy tools to shake your drinks. You can buy a simple plastic shaker at a store for less than RM10, or you can even use a mason jar as a shaker,” he said. “Instead of a jigger, you can use baking measuring spoons instead. And if you don’t have a strainer, just use a sifter.”