The SOMM Journal

February / March 2016

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130 { THE SOMM JOURNAL } FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016 CHEF NOBUYUKI "NOBU" MATSUHISA has built a culinary empire from his Nobu restaurants, but the prevalence of his name brand all over the world hasn't stopped each location from serving high-quality sushi and delectable cocktails. And the new Nobu at Eden Roc in Miami Beach is no exception. Newly opened in November, this is the largest Nobu location ever built, and Jad Marouche, Nobu's Bar Manager, has the daunting task of supervising the hotel's Lobby Bar, the restaurant bar and the outdoor lounge. A part of the Nobu restaurant group since 2007, Marouche has learned everything about cocktails and mixology working in their res- taurants. He is a veteran of the food and beverage industry, starting as a busser at Seattle's Space Needle at the age of 18. A practitioner of clean, healthy eating, Marouche has embraced cold-pressed juice in his personal diet as well as for the cocktail menu. As many of the drinks on Nobus menu are saké-based—a natural choice to pair with their sushi offerings—Marouche has found a way to combine saké and fruit in perfect harmony. "Our signature cocktails are four different kinds of Saké Frescas. They're made with local fruit, infused for three days using a slow- drip process; the liquid is separated from the fruit fiber, and then served over crushed ice. It's a drink that shows the purity of the saké combined with the essence of the fruit." Jad Marouche at the Lobby Bar of new Eden Roc in Miami Beach, where he is Bar Manager. closing time by Jesse Hom-Dawson JAD MAROUCHE USES FRESH FRUIT AND SAKÉ TO CREATE A CLEAN, CRISP COCKTAIL MENU AT THE NEW NOBU AT EDEN ROC IN MIAMI BEACH A Fresh Take Reinventing the Wheel Marouche believes in a well-crafted, classic cocktail, but must also reconcile that with the volume of business that Nobu does. "We are inspired by the classic cocktails; however, crafting cocktails with six or more ingredients that require many steps is difficult at our high-volume level." Marouche and his team have created a winning compromise, paring down the ingredients in each cocktail to four or five, which helps minimize the steps for bartenders. The cocktails have "global influence, but with a Miami twist," according to Marouche. There's a play on a Jungle Bird, with Miami rum, yuzu lime mix and Japanese brown sugar. Or the Chicha Pisco Sour cocktail, adapted from a Peruvian beverage called Chicha Morada that has a purple corn base with clove, cinnamon and pineapple rind. PHOTO: RYAN STONE PHOTO: ALESSA DELGADO THE SIDE BAR The Kiwi Ichigo at Nobu at Eden Roc, Miami Bach. Ichigo is Japanese for strawberry. Kiwi and strawberry are infused with saké for three days, then fruit fiber is removed to extract a clean, crispy saké with the essence of the fruit.

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