Cocktails

During my second year at University, I worked in a cocktail bar at ICHU Peru in Central, Hong Kong. Massimo Petovello, who trained me, taugh a lot and over the course of a semester I fell in love with the art of cocktails.

Although I dont have nearly as many spirits or fancy glassware, I like to experiment every now and then, on a student’s budget. Here are some recipes I came up with which I like.

Soju Espresso Martini

Soju Espresso Martini

A variation of the classic Espresso Martini without Vodka or Coffee Liqueur, it’s less expensive to make but still extremely flavourful and tasty.

Apparatus Required

Ingredients

Start by grinding the coffee beans to a consistency slightly coarses than espresso. You could use pre-ground coffee but I’d recommend freshly ground beans. Add the coffee to your Moka Pot and let it brew

Meanwhile, measure out 90ml of Soju and add it to your shaker. Add ~20 to 30ml of syrup, though this does depend on personal preference. Keep ice ready in the other half of the shaker.

Once the coffee is ready, pour it into the shaker which has the Soju and Sugar, while still hot. My moka pot makes ~150mL of coffee, which along with 90mL of soju is good for two cocktails. If you’ve a smaller moka pot, adjust the amount of Soju accordingly.

Pour the warm coffe, soju and sugar mixture over the ice, smack the shaker to ensure a good seal, and shake away! Since the liquid is warm, the ice will melt quite fast, so give it string shakes, but only for around 5-7 seconds.

Open the shaker, and use the strainer to pour into two cocktail glasses. If the coffee was fresh and you shook it well, you’ll end up with a nice thick layer of foam. Garnish the top with coffee beans and serve!

The strength of the coffee balances out the rawness of the Soju quite well, and the syrup complements it well. You can vary the amount of Soju, Ice or even the shaking time, to try out different strengths.

Enjoy!