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Soy sauce is the cocktail ingredient we never knew we needed.
About the cocktail
For eons, it was thought that everything we ate or drank could easily be classified into four distinct tastes: sweet, sour, salty or bitter. That was until 1908 when Japanese scientist Dr Kikunae Ikeda identified the mythical ‘fifth taste’ of umami (no doubt after many bowls of ramen and much contemplation). While the list of umami-flavoured foods is long and their use in cocktails is extensive, the one that gives this drink its unique umami kick is soy sauce. Not exactly a bar cart staple, we grant you, but its use here adds a lip-smacking savoury edge to the classic Old Fashioned. If you’re craving something a little different, this is the cocktail to try (you’ll thank us later). With so many big flavours – soy sauce, maple syrup, dark rum and Amontillado sherry – it’s best to serve this nice and cold. When you strike the perfect balance, you’ll notice your saliva glands working overtime, which is one of the things umami flavours trigger. The other is digestive juices, so you’ll want some tasty bar snacks as well – yakitori skewers, anyone? If this all sounds a little too funky, you can always fall back on some other tried-and-true riffs on the classic, like the Rum Old Fashioned or Oaxaca Old Fashioned, which uses tequila. But our advice is to try this version before you knock it – it is one sweet, savoury and surprisingly moreish umami bomb.
Ingredients
2.5mL Kikkoman soy sauce
10mL Canadian maple syrup 40mL dark rum 20mL Amontillado sherry Glass: old fashioned Garnish: grapefruit cheek and seaweed sheet, optional
Method
Add all ingredients to a mixing glass with cubed ice
Stir until chilled and diluted Carefully strain into a chilled glass over a large ice block Garnish with a grapefruit cheek and seaweed sheet, if using
Dan’s top tips
Like all good cocktails, this one hinges on the quality of the ingredients, so don’t skimp. While you can certainly try this with any soy sauce you have at your disposal, we recommend Kikkoman soy sauce for its depth and richness. Meanwhile, a genuine Canadian maple syrup is the only way to go (other maple-flavoured sauces won’t cut it – trust us, you’ll notice the difference). Your choice of dark rum plays another key role here in fusing all the flavours together, as it needs to stand up to the oomph of the soy, maple and sherry. Spanish rum will get too washed out in this mix, which is why we’ve gone for Appleton – its beautiful spiced and molasses characters work a treat. If this big umami hit is a bit too much the first time around, you can easily pull it back by adding an apple juice float – about 20mL will work nicely. But if you really want to dial up the umami character, try garnishing the drink with a sheet of seaweed to complete the experience.
Member Offer
$52 per bottle Non-Member: $57.99 each
image credits: Shelley Horan (photographer), Bridget Wald (stylist), LSS (production).
