The Tasting Panel magazine

December 2011

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Cocktails For OUR COCKTAIL ENGINEER PHIL ADLER PROVES THAT THERE'S SUBSTANCE IN FOAM AT LOS ANGELES'S ROCKSUGAR Geeks photos by Maria Schriber At Los Angeles's Century City pan-Asian hotspot, RockSugar, we got a bit of cocktail/kitchen crossover. Director of Culinary, Chef Mohan Ismail paired Phil Adler's ROKA cocktail with his delicious pork belly buns. I 84 / the tasting panel / december 201 1 spend a lot of time in bars (it's tough, I know). In most of those bars, I find the usual suspects: Cosmopolitan, Margarita, Mojito, Manhattan, Martini and so on. In addition to these standards, there always seems to be one other drink on the list: the Sour Apple Martini. So I decided to work over then the ever-popular, singles-drinking Sour Apple, a true classic in need of a modern mixology makeover. In thinking about how to upgrade this cocktail, I considered several factors in the transformation. I wanted to use exciting new base spirits, innovative flavors and, of course, new techniques. As a firm believer that there should be no limitations on creative beverage development, focusing on all three would be my key to success in the modern take on this classic, and there are some great options out there today that really get people thinking outside of the shaker. For the spirits, I chose a couple of wonderful liqueurs made by ROKA: Apple and Caramel flavors, both delicious and flavorful bases for this revamp. Caramel and apple are a natural flavor combination, so that part was easy, and I knew that one more excit- ing component would really push this cocktail to the next level: salt. Salt and caramel go well together, and the combination of salt, caramel and apple was something that I knew would provide a bit of savory seasonal appeal to this classic, but one thing still remained. What cool technique could I infuse into this cocktail?

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