While umami-rich cuisine is nothing new, forward-thinking bartenders across the country have recently taken a tip from the kitchen and started to bring umami behind the bar. In the last year, unexpected ingredients and unique flavour profiles began appearing more frequently on drink menus as mixologists pushed the boundaries of traditional cocktail culture.
From elevated mocktails to signature craft offerings that add a new twist to the experience, mixologists around the world are creating fun new drinks with Asian twists in order to stay on trend and surprise and delight customers. And what better way to do that than by using Kikkoman sauces to infuse cocktails — such as the Rum-Spiked Ponzu Lemonade — with an unexpected dose of umami.
Tastes are evolving beyond classic cocktails to items such as cocktail mashups (combining sweet-and-sour or sweet-and-salty flavours), plant-based cocktails with unique spicing and other Instagrammable drinks. Even the classics are going through a flavour makeover to suit more adventurous customers. For example, mixologist Graham Kimura is shaking things up with his soy-infused Bloody Mary.
In New York City, Jim Meehan of Please Don’t Tell has crafted a Peeking Duck Cocktail featuring vodka, cognac, orange juice and Kikkoman Soy Sauce.
As Canada’s rich, diverse and ever-changing cocktail culture continues to evolve to meet the changing tastes of consumers, mixologists must continue to look outside their comfort zone for inspiration. Infusing cocktail creations with bold new tastes can help bartenders meet the demand for complex flavour profiles.
Recipes [to be added with photos on our end….they’ll show up in the test blast]
b. Teppan-Seared Cauliflower Steak Video
c. Chef Lien Lin’s Kao Yuk Soy Braised Pork Belly Hash recipe
