Ladies and gentlemen, please put your hands together and help us welcome the newest citrus sensation from the Orient, the yuzu. It is a hybrid between the sour mandarin and the Ichang Lemon, a hardy, slow-growing variety native to East Asia. In today’s cocktail culture where innovation is king and a premium is placed on incorporating cutting edge flavors, the yuzu is money in the bank.
The yuzu is a fruit tailor-made for drink making. It has a tart palate and tastes like a cross between grapefruit and Mandarin orange. The delectable citrus was the inspiration for the Dew Drop Cocktail, a sensation specialty at Scottsdale’s Jade Bar. Ensconced in the Sanctuary Resort on the slopes of Camelback Mountain, the Jade Bar is a sought after cocktail haven. A few sips of this yuzu-laced libation will quickly show why.
The cocktail is made with Pyrat X.O. Rum, lemongrass simple syrup and equal parts of fresh yuzu and lime juice. The ingredients are shaken and strained into a sugar rimmed cocktail glass adorned with a spiraled orange peel. The yuzu juice lends the drink an intriguing and indisputably delicious taste dimension.
At the ultra-swank Bar Mesa in Manhattan’s Time Warner Center, the drink to be seen with is the Yuzu Champagne Cocktail. The restaurant is famous for its world-class sushi and seafood, and resident mixologist Mike Vacheresse has crafted an elegant signature perfectly adapted with its surroundings. The cocktail is prepared by |
muddling in a mixing glass yuzu peels (quarter-size), simple syrup and a spray of rose water. Ice and champagne are added. The drink is gently stirred and carefully strained into a chilled champagne glass. Muddling the peels imbues the cocktail with the yuzu’s highly aromatic essential oils.
Yet another example from Scottsdale is the Wandering Poet, a specialty drink at the Mosaic Restaurant. Crafted by cocktail aficionados Stephanie Kozicki and chef Deborah Knight, the drink is made with Hangar One Buddha’s Hand Vodka, Rihaku-Wanderering Poet Junmai Ginjo Sake, triple sec and fresh yuzu juice. The disparate ingredients meld seamlessly rendering the cocktail fabulously delicious and silky smooth.
Yuzu juice is also featured in a signature at posh Cyrus Restaurant in Sonoma Valley, Healdsburg to be exact. In addition to a world-class cuisine, the restaurant features the works of master bar chef Scott Beattie. Among his celebrated repertoire of cocktails is the Huck Yu, a popular, wine-country favorite made with Hangar One Straight Vodka, lemoncello, Verjus (unripe grape juice), handmade huckleberry syrup and yuzu juice. The ingredients are vigorously shaken, strained into a chilled cocktail glass and finished off with a fill of sparkling wine.
Fully expect yuzu juice to stake out a place behind American bars. Ounce for ounce it has more character and pizzazz than your average citrus juice, which to a skilled mixologist is great news.
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