This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Feature
Cocktail stories: 50/50 Sour, Hope & Sesame
There are two sides to every story, as shown by Hope & Sesame owner Andrew Ho’s ode to a classic Cantonese beverage.
‘Hidden’ behind the storefront of what is seemingly your standard Cantonese café, in Guangzhou’s DongShanKou neighbourhood, is Hope & Sesame – which, at first glance, one probably wouldn’t believe to be one of the best bars not only in China but in the world. The venue, which is co-owned by Andrew Ho, has built up a stellar international reputation backed by an ever-changing cocktail menu (the team are now on their 16th), with themes ranging from kitchen condiments to Chinese banquet-style weddings.
One cocktail that has maintained its place as a regular (since Volume 7) is the 50/50, which Ho says takes after the popular Yuenyeung drink, a half-coffee and half-milk tea mix found in the traditional cafés that lie on the corner of nearly every street in Guangdong and Hong Kong. Ho has turned the beverage into a cocktail using a split base of two London Dry gins: a fat-washed gin infused with coffee, and an Earl Grey gin.
He says the innovation and inspiration behind the 50/50 are “related to the unique characteristics of our city”, he says. “We incorporated a familiar drink to create something new. When guests enjoy this cocktail with a basic understanding of the original drink, it delivers a surprising and impactful flavour experience, showing that cocktails can offer a lot of room for creativity.”
Ho opts for a light roast coffee – similar to an Ethiopian style – where the beans are roasted for a shorter time, and retain a subtle flavour, with fruity, floral and citrusy notes. The Earl Grey tea, meanwhile, brings tannins into the fold, creating what Ho calls “a very good tea-coffee sour”. The cocktail is topped with foam made from aquafaba, which is shaken into the mix and adds a savoury element while “enhancing complexity”, and finished with two coffee beans to round out the presentation.
While it might be a tipple that requires fat washing and infusions, its flavours are easily understood by drinkers. “We get a lot of tourists, who might not be advanced with cocktails but still want to have a good time and enjoy the drinks,” Ho says.
While there has to be technique, it also needs to be approachable to all – much like the 50/50’s ingredients, you could say it’s about finding a middle ground between the two.
50/50 Sour
Ingredients
- 50ml Milk-washed latte gin*
- 15ml Earl Grey gin*
- 20ml Fresh lemon juice
- 10ml Simple syrup
- 15ml Chickpea aquafaba
*Milk-washed latte gin: Combine 75g coffee grounds and 750g London Dry gin and keep in the fridge for 12 hours. After 12 hours, strain the coffee grounds. Next, combine the coffee, gin and 500ml of milk, mix well, then slowly pour in the lemon juice. Stir for two rounds and let the mix sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes, then strain it through a coffee filter.
*Earl Grey gin: Combine 6g of Earl Grey tea and London Dry gin, and refrigerate for 16 hours. After that time, strain out the tea.
Method
Put all the ingredients into a shaker, add ice cubes and shake quickly. Strain with a double strainer into a coupe glass and garnish with coffee beans.
Related news
Cocktail stories: Eyes of Flame, Allegory