Chai No Lait
Ingredients
- 1½ ounces chai masala-infused gin* (a floral gin works particularly well)
- 1½ ounces nigori sake
- ½ ounce fresh lemon juice
- ½ ounce demerara syrup (2:1 sugar to water)
- 1 egg white
- Angostura bitters, for garnish
Recipe
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Combine the infused gin, sake, lemon juice, demerara syrup, and egg white in a cocktail shaker. Dry-shake vigorously without ice to emulsify the egg white and build foam.
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Add ice and shake again until well chilled.
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Fine-strain into a chilled coupe.
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Garnish with Angostura bitters: using a bitters bottle for control, draw a straight line across the foam, then pull a cocktail pick through it to create a decorative pattern.
*Chai masala-infused gin: Add 4–5 tablespoons of chai masala (a blend of black tea and warming spices) to a 750 ml bottle of gin. Invert the bottle and let steep for 1½–2 hours, turning it occasionally. Taste as you go — do not oversteep or the gin will turn bitter. When the flavor is to your liking, fine-strain to remove all solids. The infused gin will keep indefinitely.