For the house Paloma at Mr. Susan in Berlin, the star of the drink is gochujang, a fermented pepper paste. The funky, smoky notes of the ingredient complement bittersweet grapefruit soda, which the bar makes in-house, as well as earthy tequila, tart lime juice and mandarin liqueur.
Korean Paloma
Susan Choi | Berlin
Ingredients
Serving: 1
- heavy 1 1/4 ounces tequila
- heavy 1/2 ounce gochujang syrup (see Editor’s Note)
- 1/2 ounce mandarin liqueur, preferably Mandarine Napoléon
- scant 1/2 ounce lime juice
- homemade grapefruit soda, to top (see Editor’s Note)
Garnish: grapefruit wedge
Directions
- Add all ingredients, except grapefruit soda, to a highball glass with ice and stir.
- Top with grapefruit soda and garnish with a grapefruit wedge.
Editor's Note
Gochujang Syrup
30 milliliters rice vinegar
1 heaping tablespoon raw gochujang paste
100 milliliters water
100 grams sugar
1. Stir together rice vinegar and gochujang and set aside.
2. In a pot over medium heat, combine the water and sugar. Stir until the sugar is thoroughly dissolved, then let simmer for 4 to 5 minutes over low heat.
3. Add the gochujang mixture into the syrup and gently stir until the gochujang is completely dissolved into the sugar mixture.
4. Let cool, then filter gochujang syrup through a fine-mesh sieve into a bottle.
Grapefruit Soda
Press 1 to 2 ripe grapefruit to yield 70 milliliters of fresh juice. Add 50 milliliters of soda water and 20 milliliters of simple syrup, then stir to combine.