19 Aug Provocachic™ Lychee Martini
With an illustrious recorded history going as far back as 1059 A.D. in China, the lychee fruit is symbolic of both royalty and love. Legend speaks of the imperial Lady Yang Kuei Fei who had a passion for fresh lychees; the Emperor Hsuan Tsung had guards mounted on fast horses traveling 600 miles south of the palace to bring back the fresh lychees to woo her. Today, used to create the lychee martini, perhaps the lychee can help you do to some wooing of your own.
1 serving
Ingredients
1 ounce lychee liqueur
2/3 ounce vanilla flavored vodka
Dash of Cointreau
2 ounces lychee syrup (from canned fruit)
1 lychee fruit (canned, though recommended cultivar if available: Hak Ip, Kwa Luk or Brewster)
Lychee fruits, for garnish
Total: at least 4 1/3 ounces (guide for glassware)
[Mixologist’s Notes: If good quality fresh lychee fruits are available, use in place of the blended fruit, syrup and garnish. With a juicer, extract fresh lychee juice to replace the syrup in the recipe. For richer texture, add another lychee fruit to blend.]
Equipment
Cocktail Shaker (3-piece)
Martini glass (5-7 ounce), for service
Preparation
Chill all the ingredients, garnishes and glassware in the refrigerator.
Make the cocktail:
Blend all the ingredients well, and drop the fresh lychee garnish with a cocktail pick into the glassware. Place the cocktail ingredients into the shaker.
Top up cocktail shaker (about ¾ full) with ice cubes, preferably with the largest possible ice cubes. Shake and chill cocktail shaker with firm, concise and vigorous strokes until your hands can’t take the cold, and then a little longer…
Strain the ingredients into the martini glass. Good effort in the shaking shall reward one with tiny ice chips floating on the surface of the cocktail, adding a wonderful textural experience.
Serve immediately.
Copyright © 2006 Provocachic™ and The Gilded Fork, LLC. Recipe and photo by Damian SIM. All rights reserved.
Damian Sim is the resident mixologist for the Gilded Fork and the founder of Provocachic™, a cocktail consultancy company based in Singapore. For more cocktail tips and recipes, visit his Provocachic blog.