International spirits: hottest drinks in town

Cheers,  Nov-Dec, 2004  by Jack Robertiello

• E-mail
• Print
• Link

What's the next hot spirit? Whatever it is, chances are it will come from outside the U.S.

Take, for instance, tequila. After years of its shoot-it-and-shiver reputation here, American consumers finally helped establish fine tequila as a first-class sipper worldwide. The slew of recent Cognac-and-juice entries, like the hyper-hot Hpnotiq, Alize, Remy Red, Envy and others, may have been created with the U.S. market in mind, but they are based on spirits made elsewhere.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

The cocktail revolution is building categories and brands, and importers are searching for successful ways to sell spirits old and new. Recently, through the growing popularity of the Caipirinha, the Brazilian liquor made from unrefined sugarcane juice called cachaca has started making its way onto more back bars, especially in Latin American restaurants. As all types of American restaurants embrace more international flavors on their menus and in cocktails, and as the U.S. population of Latinos and Asians grows, other spirits once unknown here are poised to make their way into the group consciousness of the American beverage business.

HOT AND GETTING HOTTER

Fans of the Mojito, the hottest cocktail of this century so far, are finding that the Caipirinha is just as refreshing. Bar and restaurant operators themselves are discovering that the easy to make Caipirinha is just as profitable as the Mojito and matches well with Latin-influenced menus.

Cachaca (kuh-SHA-sah) is considered the national spirit of Brazil, second in popularity there only to beer. The production method from raw sugar cane is similar to the distillation of rum, but instead of using molasses, cachaca is distilled directly from fermented cane juice. Most cachaca is filtered but unaged, tasting and appearing a bit like white rum, but with more of the aroma and flavor of cane juice. Aged cachaca is rarely available in the U.S., but like with tequila, once Americans develop a taste for the real thing, a market here will surely emerge.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Only about one percent of the gigantic output of Brazilian cachaca leaves the country, with most of that going to Germany. But the cachaca makers have said they want to more than double exports by 2010, so expect to see a bigger push from the big brands (Pitu and 51 are among the biggest) soon.

Recent reports suggest that it's not only the large industrial producers looking overseas for growth. A group of young businessmen are launching what they're calling "quality cachaca" in the U.K. A $12.5 million advertising campaign by Saatchi and Saatchi has just started in Britain for the new Sagatiba brand, marketed to young cocktail consumers.

SOJU YOU SAY

In Korean neighborhoods in the U.S., soju has always been available along with kimchee and bulgogi as a comforting reminder of home. But now, in cutting-edge scenes like the RoHan Lounge in San Francisco and Zuma and Roka in London, soju is taking center stage as the main spirit in the house.

Soju is an ancient Korean and Japanese liquor distilled from rice, barley and sweet potatoes, with a light, crisp taste and mouth feel similar to vodka. But it's less powerful, usually about 25% alcohol by volume or so, and that difference has also opened a route to greater popularity. In New York and California, a sort of loophole in licensing laws has allowed licenses to serve soju only to restaurant operators with beer and wine exclusively.

At RoHan Lounge, soju cocktails like the Happy Family (soju, koko creme, fresh pineapple and orange juices with a splash of grenadine), the Asian Blonde (soju, fresh carrot and orange juices with a splash of lemon-lime juice) and the Ming (soju, fresh grapefruit juice and lemon-lime juice with a Campari float) are popular. In London at Roka and Zuma, infused sojus are making a great hit, according to cocktail king Dale DeGroff.

At Koi Restaurant in Los Angeles, soju and Hpnotiq have teamed up in a popular cocktail, while at many places, soju either takes the place of vodka or becomes the base for a whole new set of Asian-inspired libations.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

GRAPPA REFINED

The U.S. was inundated with all sorts of grappas in the 1980s when so-called Northern Italian restaurants became immensely popular. And while the U.S. continues its love affair with Italian food, restaurants and wines, grappa has never recovered from the fire-water reputation it developed when many of those grappas, purchased by restaurateurs more for their creative bottles than the contents inside, turned consumers off the category.

Grappa is a clear grape brandy with a bit of residual sweetness. Made from the left-over wine pressings, called pomace, the better grappas are often made from a single grape varietal by such distilling luminaries as Nonino and Poli, whose products are considered some of the best distillates in the world.

Some restaurants, like the Ritz Carlton in Coral Gables, FL, serve their own Grappatini (in their case, made with grappa, creme de cassis and cranberry juice). At Zola in Washington, DC, a grappa cocktail called the Jade is served: it's a green Margarita made with lemony Nardini grappa instead of tequila. The newly opened Cafe Grey in NYC's Time-Warner Center serves the Grape Royale, made with dark purple grape juice, Nonino Merlot Grappa, sugar and sparkling wine, garnished with Champagne grapes.