Awamori Highball — Okinawan awamori stretched long over soda, sharpened with a few drops of shikuwasa bitters

Awamori Highball

Okinawan awamori stretched long over soda, sharpened with a few drops of shikuwasa bitters

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Ingredients

  • 4 dropsCraft Bitters Citrus
    Dropped onto the surface last
    Substitute: A yuzu or lemon bitters
  • 4 ozSoda Water
    Well chilled
  • 1 1/2 ozAwamori
    Any Okinawan awamori; a young one keeps it light
    Substitute: A rice shochu

Instructions

  1. Fill a highball glass with ice
  2. Add 1 1/2 oz awamori
  3. Top with 4 oz chilled soda water and lift once with a bar spoon
  4. Add 4 drops Craft Bitters Citrus to the surface
  5. Express a lemon peel over the surface and drop it in

Technique Notes

Pour the soda down a bar spoon and lift the drink once rather than stirring it. Awamori is lighter than the whisky a highball usually carries, so the bubbles do more of the work, and the bitters go on last to scent the top of the glass.

Why the Awamori Highball Works

Shikuwasa is sharper and greener than lemon, and a few drops of bitters built on it lift awamori the way a squeeze of citrus lifts a highball, without adding juice or sugar. The rice spirit stays in front; the bitters only sharpen its edges.

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