CNY Bartender: the Saigon Fizz, Susu's Effervescent Antidote to Cold Winters

Mina Yan | Feb 2, 2022 3:44 pm | Add a comment | 226 reads

Thirsty over the holiday? Grab a cocktail shaker and get to mixing with CNY Bartender, featuring a new drink each day from a Beijing-based mixologist.

Did you know Susu has cocktails? I know I keep forgetting. Every time I head over to Susu I’ve got my heart set on the pho made with broth that literally takes half a day to prepare.

If you’ve fallen in love with Susu’s food as I have over the years, their drinks are also a pretty accurate reflection of their taste.

For those who’ve yet to enjoy Vietnamese food with a legit cocktail, you’re missing out. To any, Susu’s Saigon Fizz is like a gin and tonic but with a Vietnamese flare.

Ingredients

5 mint leaves
60ml Beefeater gin
60ml homemade ginger syrup*
Half-can of tonic water
4 large ice cubes (3.5x4cm)

Method

*First let’s make the ginger syrup.
Combine 1 part fresh ginger juice with peel, 2 parts freshly squeezed lime juice, and 3 parts homemade sugar cane simple syrup.
Stir evenly and refrigerate.
Add 9 drops of Angostura bitters

To make the cocktail:
1. Drop the mint leaves, gin, homemade ginger beer syrup, Angostura bitters and two cubes of ice – in that order – into the shaker.
2. Shake hard with short staccato pace (ie, short, sharp shakes) for eight seconds, so the mint is shredded.
3. Plop the other two cubes of ice into a Collins glass, and pour out the shaker.
4. Add tonic but not all the way to the top.
5. Garnish with mint.