Leeward Negroni

Inspired By:

Pacific Cocktail Haven (San Francisco)

Complexity

Alcohol Level

3/5

Medium

Type

Negroni Riff

Preparation

Stirred

Glass

Old Fashioned

Ice

Large Cube

INGREDIENTS

Tiki Bitters • Glass rinse

Campari • 30ml / 1oz

Pandan Cordial (see Notes) • 22ml / 0.75oz

Choeng Doi Blanc • 15ml / 0.5oz

Garnish: Pandan leaf, cleaned and cut

STEPS

Dash tiki bitters into a rocks glass, gently rotate to coat the inside, then spill out any excess.
Combine the remaining ingredients in a mixing glass over ice and stir until chilled.
Strain into the prepared rocks glass over a large ice cube.
Garnish with a fresh pandan leaf.

NOTES:

Pandan Cordial: Tie 5 fresh or frozen (thawed) pandan leaves into a knot and place in an airtight container with 240ml Everclear. Cap tightly and let sit for 2 days, then strain out the leaves.

Stir the pandan-Everclear infusion together with 360ml simple syrup (1:1 hot water and sugar, stirred until dissolved).

Swap Note: The original Pacific Cocktail Haven recipe uses gin; this version uses Choeng Doi Blanc, trading juniper intensity for grassy, vegetal sugarcane character that plays well with the pandan's nutty, tropical notes.

HISTORY

Kevin Diedrich, a self-professed pandan enthusiast, created the Leeward Negroni at Pacific Cocktail Haven in San Francisco, working the ingredient into a Negroni riff via a housemade cordial and a wash of tiki bitters. The name refers to the sheltered, downwind side of an island.

Our version replaces the gin with Choeng Doi Blanc. In place of juniper, the rhum's grassy, vegetal cane character leans into pandan's own nutty, tropical notes, while Campari and the tiki bitters wash keep the drink's bitter backbone intact.