Love of leaf
Updated: 2016-05-10 08:11
By Mike Peters(China Daily)
|
|||||||||
Frankie Zou uses herbal bitters-and occasionally smoke-to give cocktail drinkers a distinctive experience. Photos by Bruno Maestrini/Provided to China Daily |
Botany is more than a name at one of Beijing's sleekest new bars-it's an embrace of plants that can make magic in a cocktail glass, Mike Peters discovers between fragrant sips.
Frankie Zou is pouring one of his housemade vermouths, this one infused with chamomile, into a gleaming crystal glass.
"That gives the drink a floral character," he says as he reaches next for egg whites, then cognac, then freshly cooked pineapple juice, and finally a lemon juice-syrup blend to produce a sweet-sour finish.
He froths the carefully measured ingredients with a hand blender, to make the mixture airy and creamy, then pours it into a cocktail shaker and rhythmically pumps it up and down.
A patron at the counter murmurs: "I thought that was only done in the movies." Zou grins wickedly.
"I only do it when James Bond is coming to the bar," he says.
Zou's showmanship at Botany goes far beyond the shake-rattle-and-roll of bartenders in film, but his style is far too sleek for gimmicks like flipping peanuts into customers' mouths.
Instead he uses things like smoke-to add a touch of wonder to his creations but also to add flavor. His "tricks", in short, have to be relevant, enhancing the customers' appreciation of what they are drinking.
- CPC creates cartoon to show how officials are selected
- Top 5 expected highlights at CES Asia 2016
- Business jet market hits air pocket
- Canada getting on top of Alberta wildfire, Fort McMurray off limits
- Young golfers enjoy the rub of the green
- 71st anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany marked
- Post-90s girl organizes others’ messy wardrobes
- Landslide hit hydropower station in SE China
Most Viewed
Editor's Picks
Anti-graft campaign targets poverty relief |
Cherry blossom signal arrival of spring |
In pictures: Destroying fake and shoddy products |
China's southernmost city to plant 500,000 trees |
Cavers make rare finds in Guangxi expedition |
Cutting hair for Longtaitou Festival |
Today's Top News
Liang avoids jail in shooting death
China's finance minister addresses ratings downgrade
Duke alumni visit Chinese Embassy
Marriott unlikely to top Anbang offer for Starwood: Observers
Chinese biopharma debuts on Nasdaq
What ends Jeb Bush's White House hopes
Investigation for Nicolas's campaign
Will US-ASEAN meeting be good for region?
US Weekly
Geared to go |
The place to be |