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This is the signature cocktail from restuarant Umami in Copenhagen,
courtesy of Nikolaj Brønsted - Bar Chef.

It is a refreshing cocktail that is both sweet and sour fresh, the ginger gives a pleasant fragrant spice to the palate.

Shochu is  a distilled spirit from Japan, which is also found in China
and Korea.  It is referred to many times as the ‘japanese vodka’, but
is much more aromatic.  It is mainly made from rice and barley.  In
Japan they drink it just with ice or with a mixer.  It is an excellent
cocktail ingredient too.

The content is:
4 cl Shochu
2 cl Lychee Liqueur
4 cl Passion Fruit Juice
2 cl Ginger Syrup
1 cl Lime Juice

We make the ginger syrup just like a simple syrup (one part sugar/one part water, bring to boil then let it cool) We just add fresh ginger slightly chopped, bring to boil with sugar and water, then let it cool. Put the mixture in a blender and seive it so no bits are left. You are left with a brown syrup. The measurements vary for how much you need. Don’t be shy with the ginger - you want to taste it, plus the sweetness of sugar, the balance is essential - it took us a while to get the right amounts but its brilliant now!

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This is a personal favourite of mine to make and to drink, A complex drink, that is challenging to make but very worthwhile when done right. Gary Regan writes in his book The Joy of Mixology “when properly constructed, it is the finest cocktail on the face of the earth.” Strong words indeed, but I am in total agreement.

The standard content is:

3 parts rye or bourbon whisky
1 part sweet vermouth
2 dashes of bitters

It can be served straight up (cocktail glass) or on the rocks. It can be Sweet (sweet vermouth, maybe extra maraschino liquor. My favourite.), Dry (dry vermouth instead of sweet.) or Perfect (Use of both sweet and dry vermouth.)
Variations of this recipe have been conjured up such as the Rob Roy, use of blended scotch instead of rye or bourbon. If one uses brandy as the spirit it becomes a Harvard. The much acclaimed Martinez is the gin variation – this cocktail requires maraschino liquor plus usage of a very dry gin.

In the episode of the video podcast I use Buffalo Trace Bourbon, Carpano Antica Formula Vermouth, Orange and Angostura Bitters plus a maraschino liquor soaked cherry.
I used the this whisky for is spicyness and slight smoky overtones and works great with the orange bitters, the carpano ‘ancient formula’ vermouth is the king of all vermouths and is a robust modifier to the whisky, it can be happily drunk on its own on the rocks. The maraschino saturated cherry works fantastically well and I love the garnish. Rimming the glass with the orange zest is optional but common and is a nice touch.