Yesterday's cocktail item...
Challenged to prepare a few cocktails to complement a party with a Thai Menu built around menu items from the Portland/Brooklyn restaurant PokPok, I used WhiskeySodaBar's bar manager Alex Mirkin's suggestion, and choose ingredients that would cut through the heat of the spicy seasoned food. Mirkin relies heavily on PokPok's drinking vinegars as the acid component in many of his drinks, and I did the same, by creating a vinegar base from Champagne Citrus Vinegar mixed with sweetened tamarind paste.
Cocktail #2, pictured here, was a highball, made with cucumber and red pepper infused vodka, salted cucumber simple syrup, tamarind drinking vinegar, and topped with soda. The garnish was a cucumber slice dipped in chili sugar salt, and a red pepper slice. The cucumber did a great job cutting through the spicy heat of the food.
