Lemongrass, grapefruit and a pair of esoteric ingredients—yuzu tonic water and pink peppercorns—elevate a faithful summer go-to, gin & tonics. Recipe below.
[su_dropcap style=”flat”]W[/su_dropcap]hen we’re making cocktails at home, we generally keep things pretty simple. We make classics like Campari and sodas, gin and tonics, and old fashioneds, or play around in an offhanded way with bitters, simple syrup and splashes of lime or lemon juice. But sometimes, we get inspired by fancy bartender cocktails. And sometimes, that inspiration comes secondhand and long distance.
Look up peripatetic in the dictionary and you’ll likely find a picture of our friends Melissa and Laurent. That’s certainly been the case lately, as they’ve traveled places both far-flung and near-flung. They recently celebrated Melissa’s birthday in Los Angeles. One stop was Bar Figueroa, where she enjoyed a gin and tonic made with two new-to-us ingredients: pink peppercorns and East Imperial Yuzu Tonic. Fortunately, she shared an enticing, blurry photo of said cocktail on social media, and the hunt was on.
In this golden age of cocktails, one trick up bartenders’ sleeves is arcane, often artisanal ingredients, made in-house or carefully sourced. The yuzu tonic is one of these. East Imperial’s four tonic waters (and ginger ale and ginger beer and soda water) are made in small batches in New Zealand. The tonic waters are made from an old family recipe dating back to 1903.
East Imperial Yuzu Tonic is built around yuzu, a small Asian citrus fruit grown mainly in Japan, Korea and China. According to East Imperial’s website, it is “an aromatic sweet citrus fruit with distinct zesty flavour, often described as a hybrid between a mandarin and a Meyer lemon.”
It took a little doing, but we tracked down the yuzu tonic at a suburban liquor store. Pictured above, the four-pack of 5-ounce bottles was about seven bucks. Each bottle will make two of our cocktails—or enhance two regular G&Ts.
Pink peppercorns are not actually peppercorns. As kitchn reports, they “are the ripe berries of the Brazilian pepper tree. Since they are the same shape and size as true peppercorns, they are marketed under the name ‘pink peppercorn.’ They are used as a spice and have a lighter pepper-like taste.” Pink peppercorns work well in light sauces, and with seafood and fruit. And as we discovered, in cocktails. Finding those also took a little doing.
Tracking down a recipe proved even trickier. Bar Figueroa’s bar menu description, besides naming a gin (Fords), says only this: Grapefruit, Lemongrass, Pink Peppercorn, East Imperial Yuzu Tonic. So we got in the kitchen and played. What we created tastes nothing like Bar Figueroa’s, I’m sure. But it does taste citrusy, fresh, summery and slightly mysterious. Perfect for sipping at the end of the day as summer comes to an end.
Gin and Yuzu Tonic Melissa
Makes 1 cocktail
2-inch piece of lemongrass, peeled and halved lengthwise
2 ounces gin (see Kitchen Notes)
1 teaspoon pink peppercorns
1/4-inch crosswise slice of grapefruit, preferably red or pink
East Imperial Yuzu Tonic, about 2-1/2 ounces see Kitchen Notes for substitutes)
Put lemongrass and gin in a cocktail shaker. Muddle thoroughly. Add peppercorns and muddle again, more gently; the peppercorns will break up easily and you don’t want to completely pulverize them. Cut the slice of grapefruit in half and add one half to the shaker. Muddle gently to release its juices. Set shaker aside for 10 to 15 minutes. Cut the remaining grapefruit half-slice in half, creating a fanlike garnish.
Add ice to shaker and shake vigorously for 30 seconds to completely chill the drink. Strain into an iced-filled rocks glass. Top with yuzu tonic and stir to combine. Garnish with grapefruit fan and serve.
Kitchen Notes
What kind of gin? Bar Figueroa specifies Fords Gin, a juniper-forward, aromatic gin distilled in London. We used Boreal Spruce Gin, big on the botanicals, from Vikre Distillery in Duluth, Minnesota. But honestly, whatever gin you like to drink will work well.
Tonic substitute? If you can, do find East Imperial Yuzu Tonic. We’re thrilled to have discovered this new mixer to play with. But if you can’t, use regular tonic and add a splash of lemon or lime juice.
What does Melissa do when she isn’t gallivanting? She is the creator of Jo Snow, handcrafted syrups for cocktails, coffee and sodas. She’s also a friend of ours, but that’s totally a side gig.
Always fun to play in the kitchen! Particularly when a tasty libation is the outcome. Love the color of this! And this sounds like an awesome drink — well done! Thanks.
Thanks, John! And that playing in the kitchen is what keeps cooking fun for us, libation or no.