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Listen, there might actually be something to it.

If the Aussies are making Vegamite Lattes – “coffee that pairs well with the fat of the milk and the saltiness of the Vegemite to create a miso caramel finish” – then heck, we can surely stomach some soy sauce in our cocktail?

From umami-laden miso Daiquiris to celery Gimlets, ingredients once relegated to the kitchen are increasingly piling up at the bar. Enter soy sauce, one of the latest salty, savoury condiments to find a foothold in the bartender’s pantry.

You might as well give this savoury cocktail addition a chance, the way you might a Bloody Mary on a hangover morning – what’s the big deal?

Soy sauce does its magic in cocktails just like salt does: a little sprinkle can knock out the bitterness and bring out the lekker sweet and sour vibes. But soy sauce comes packing more punch – roasted soybeans, wheat, and koji fermenting together – all of which give a drink that next-level umami with just a dash. It’s like giving your drink a proper little zhuzh!

Four drinks with soy sauce grace the menu at the Savory Project bar in Hong Kong, namely a fan favourite called the Gari Gari, which is a whiskey cocktail made with passion fruit, gari (Japanese pickled ginger), seltzer and a smidge of ponzu (a citrusy soy-based sauce), per Punch Drink.

Gurung likens the condiment to cocktail bitters. “Soy sauce acts as a bridge,” he says. “If we feel like something is missing, a bit of soy sauce will combine all the flavors.”

Then, over at Oyster Club in Connecticut, Cocktail No. 34 is one of its more savoury drinks made with the aperitif Kina L’Aéro d’Or, rice vinegar, chile oil and peanut butter, and a dash of soy sauce, of course.

“The soy sauce was so complementary to the recipe,” says bar director Jade Ayala.

At Taiwanese restaurant Wenwen in Brooklyn, a bit of soy sauce goes a long way in San Bei GG, a cocktail inspired by the classic homestyle dish San Bei Ji (Three Cup Chicken), which, as its name implies, uses three ingredients: rice wine, sesame oil and soy sauce. The drink contains sesame-infused cachaça, ginger syrup and lactic winter melon syrup, plus a drop of dark soy sauce to balance out the sesame and ginger.

“A single drop is all you need,” says Sami Syahbal, the restaurant’s general manager. “You should taste the soy sauce when you’re looking for it, but forget it’s there when you’re not.”

To incorporate soy sauce in drinks for the first time, it is recommended to start small, akin to a dash or drop, and build up from there. The type and brand of soy sauce matter, too, as does whatever mixers and alcohol you use.

Try your own version of a soy sauce cocktail at home with the Peeking Duck Cocktail. You are sure to impress your guests with your elevated taste palate and experimental antics!

Image: Kikkoman

Ingredients

• 1 shot vodka
• 1 shot cognac
• Half-shot orange liqueur
• Qauter shot orange juice
• Half-shot lemon juice
• Half-shot Amaro Averna
• Quarter shot Fitch & Leedes Ginger Ale
• A quarter teaspoon of Kikkoman soy sauce

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake then strain into a chilled glass filled with ice before garnishing with half an orange wheel.

Head over to Fitch & Leedes for more interesting cocktail experiments, tasty concoctions and magic mixers to get any party started.

[source:punchdrink]