Japanese Old Fashioned (Kyushiki)

Name: Japanese Old Fashioned (Kyushiki)
Total time: PT0D0H0M
Yield: makes one cocktail
Ingredients: 4 oz. (about 1 cup) kuru sato (Japanese black sugar, available from Kalustyan's ); 1 ⁄ 2 cup grated ginger; 1 cube kuru sato (about 1 tsp.); 2 (1/4-inch-thick) slices ginger; 2 dashes Angostura bitters; 3 ⁄ 4 oz. kuru sato-ginger syrup; 3 oz. bourbon; Orange peel, for garnish

Serves
makes one cocktail

LAURA SANT

Frequently found in Japanese baking, black sugar, or kuru sato, is made by boiling unrefined sugar cane and has a flavor similar to dark brown sugar. Combined with ginger, it adds spice and a deep molasses flavor to a traditional old fashioned in a recipe from Brooklyn restaurant Shalom Japan.

Ingredients

For the Kuru Sato–Ginger Syrup

4 oz. (about 1 cup) kuru sato (Japanese black sugar, available from Kalustyan's)
¹⁄₂ cup grated ginger

For the Cocktail

1 cube kuru sato (about 1 tsp.)
2 (1/4-inch-thick) slices ginger
2 dashes Angostura bitters
³⁄₄ oz. kuru sato-ginger syrup
3 oz. bourbon
Orange peel, for garnish

Instructions

Step 1

Make the syrup: Combine sugar with ginger and 8 oz. water. Bring to a boil and immediately reduce heat to a simmer; cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and steep ginger for another 5 minutes. Strain mixture and chill. Makes about 1 cup. Syrup will keep, refrigerated, for up to 2 weeks.

Step 2

Make the cocktail: In a cocktail shaker, muddle sugar cube, ginger, and bitters. Add syrup and bourbon; stir and strain into a rocks glass over ice. Garnish with an orange peel.