The Last Emperor

Infuse baijiu with oolong tea leaves to make this twist on a whiskey sour.

Makes
1 cocktail
Time
10 minutes, plus infusing time

PHOTO: BRIAN KLUTCH • FOOD STYLING: JESSIE YUCHEN • PROP STYLING: PAIGE HICKS

Published on October 14, 2024

Queens, New York bar 929’s twist on a whiskey sour swaps out bourbon for Kinmen Kaoliang, a Taiwan-made light-aroma baijiu. In keeping with the bar’s theme of Mandarin and Cantonese pop music, the drink’s name nods to Hong Kong singer Anita Mui’s 1988 hit “Drunk in Dreams Together,” which samples the theme song of Bernardo Bertolucci’s 1987 film “The Last Emperor.” To make this baijiu cocktail recipe, 929 founder Haoran Chen quickly infuses baijiu with tea leaves using a sous vide machine, but we found that letting the two ingredients steep slowly at room temperature also works nicely.

Featured in “Baijiu, the World’s Most Popular Spirit, Is Coming for Your Cocktail” by Megan Zhang.

Ingredients

For the infused baijiu:

4 cups light-aroma baijiu
¼ oz. whole oolong tea leaves

For the cocktail:

1 oz. umeshu (Japanese plum wine)
½ oz. egg white, or aquafaba
½ oz. fresh lime juice
½ oz. pineapple juice
½ oz. simple syrup
Dehydrated pineapple slice, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

Step 1

Make the infused baijiu: To a 1-quart jar, add the baijiu and tea leaves, seal, and set aside at room temperature until the baijiu takes on a subtle tea flavor, 4–12 hours.

Step 2

Strain the infused baijiu through a fine-mesh sieve set over a large liquid measuring cup (discard the tea leaves), then pour it back into the jar. (If not using immediately, cover and store in a cool, dark place for up to 6 months.)

Step 3

Make the cocktail: To a cocktail shaker filled halfway with ice, add 1½ ounces of the infused baijiu (reserve the remaining for another use), the umeshu, egg white, lime juice, pineapple juice, and simple syrup. Shake until chilled, about 15 seconds, then strain into a coupe or rocks glass. Discard the ice, pour the liquid back into the shaker, and shake again until foamy, about 15 seconds more. Strain back into the glass, garnish with a dehydrated pineapple slice if desired, and serve.

Make the infused baijiu: To a 1-quart jar, add the baijiu and tea leaves, seal, and set aside at room temperature until the baijiu takes on a subtle tea flavor, 4–12 hours.
Strain the infused baijiu through a fine-mesh sieve set over a large liquid measuring cup (discard the tea leaves), then pour it back into the jar. (If not using immediately, cover and store in a cool, dark place for up to 6 months.)
Make the cocktail: To a cocktail shaker filled halfway with ice, add 1½ ounces of the infused baijiu (reserve the remaining for another use), the umeshu, egg white, lime juice, pineapple juice, and simple syrup. Shake until chilled, about 15 seconds, then strain into a coupe or rocks glass. Discard the ice, pour the liquid back into the shaker, and shake again until foamy, about 15 seconds more. Strain back into the glass, garnish with a dehydrated pineapple slice if desired, and serve.