It’s the Year of the Pig; Have a Drink
Lunar New Year falls on February 5th this year, and we’d like to offer you some suggestions as you plan to usher in the Year of the Pig.
The Pig is the 12th and last sign in the zodiac. To greatly oversimplify an old and complicated astrological system, if you are born in a Pig year, you are likely to be compassionate, with a generous nature and good odds of remaining cool under pressure. You like to finish what you start and are not easily distracted from your goals. So, if your goal is to apply your native diligence to upping your cocktail game, read on. We’ve got you covered with some Lunar New Year inspired potables, and we resisted the considerable temptation to spotlight drinks with bacon garnishes.
First of all, if you happen to be in, or heading to, San Francisco-well, you’re in luck because there is no polar vortex here and it’s a world class spot to toast the Lunar New Year. If you’re not going to be in the Bay Area, the St. Regis San Francisco has shared a couple of seasonal cocktails made in partnership with Suntory, so you can play with them at home. They’re in the “elegant and simple” range so you won’t be decocting 17 rare herbs by moonlight or making your own wildcrafted food dyes or anything; their green tea yuzu syrup might take a click or two if you don’t live in a neighborhood where yuzu juice is a supermarket item; it’s worth it, no other citrus tastes like yuzu.
Haku Martini
Recipe via St. Regis San Francisco
Ingredients
.5 oz. Saki vermouth
3 oz. Haku vodka
edible flowers (pansies are relatively easy to find in markets this time of year; rose petals will work well too, just make sure they’re unsprayed)
Directions: Shake (or stir…) vermouth and vodka together, pour into chilled Martini glass, float petals… et voila.
Toki Old Fashioned
From St. Regis San Francisco
Ingredients
.5 oz. green tea yuzu syrup
3 dashes ginger bitters
2 oz. Toki whiskey
Candied ginger
Directions: Stir ingredients together in a highball glass over one of those big blocky ice cubes, then skewer a slice of crystallized ginger and drape it artfully across the rim.
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