A cocktail is poured into a crystal glass.

Make Long Chim’s staple summer cocktail

“You always have one drink on there for you – there’s always the bartender’s favourite,” James Connolly, bar manager at Long Chim, says laughing.

He’s referring to the cocktail list at Long Chim, and his latest creation for it, the Mig 21, made with whisky, absinthe, honey liqueur, orange bitters and salt. It’s just one cocktail on the list at the new sister restaurant of the Perth hit, which opened in Sydney last month.

The list has been designed to complement Thai street flavours. “We wanted to work with the flavours and the culture to make sure it matched the rest of the venue,” says Connolly, who created the list while picking chef David Thompson’s brain. “David’s got an amazing palate, so we’re always running things past him. He knows the profiles inside out.”

Take Thai staple kaffir lime leaves, for example. They’re infused in vodka for one of Long Chim’s signature cocktails, the Or Tor Kor Mule.

“If they’re pounded with a mortar and pestle they can release great aromatics, but can become too astringent if you use too many of them or leave them to infuse for too long,” says Connolly. “You need to understand the flavours you’re using.”

There’s the Pineapple Express with Ketel One vodka, apricot, benedictine, lime, pineapple, ginger beer and egg white; the B.A.N.A.N.A.S with coconut rum, aged rum, banana, lime and vanilla ice-cream; and the bar’s secret twist on the ’80s classic, the Grasshopper.

“Most bartenders would be embarrassed to make a Grasshopper these days, so we wanted to make the best one anybody’s ever had,” says Jaffrey. Big Poppa’s uses ice-cream for its take. “We’ve given it a different name (the Sauterelle), so even cocktail nerds find it appealing.”

A favourite among bartenders, the Corpse Reviver No.2 has also been given the Big Poppa’s touch with the addition of white coconut rum and Blue Curaçao.

“We call it the Corpse Reviver Mali-Blû,” says Jaffrey. “We’ve taken a very serious drink and made it a bit more fun. We serve it over a bright-blue ice cube as an extra touch.”

Long Chim’s Or Tor Kor Mule
Makes one. Approximately 1.5 standard drinks.

Ingredients:
45ml kaffir lime-infused Ketel One Vodka
2 dashes Bitter End Thai Bitters (Angostura is a good substitute)
10ml fresh lime juice
150ml Capi Flamin’ Ginger Beer
Dash sugar syrup

Method:
Add all ingredients except ginger beer to a highball glass. Fill with ice, then add ginger beer and stir briefly. Skewer the lime leaf and lime wedge together. Add two long straws, and garnish with the skewer.

Big Poppa’s Corpse Reviver Mali-Blû

Makes one. Approximately 1.5 standard drinks.

Ingredients:
20ml Tanqueray gin
20ml Lillet
10ml white coconut rum
10ml Blue Curaçao
20ml lemon
10ml sugar syrup
Dash of absinthe

Method:
Shake all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Double-strain over ice in a rocks glass.

Posted inArticle, BroadsheetTags: Bar, Big Poppa's, Cocktail, Drinks, Long Chim, Summer
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