Bartender David Yee often tells stories through cocktails; his Short Story recounts his memory of eating sushi for the first time. The green pepperiness of the Bombay Sapphire gin reminded him of the mouth-tickling quality of wasabi and ginger, with lemon adding acidity and the rice vinegar acting like a shrub. The floral, faintly sweet ambrato vermouth helps round out the body while a nori flake provides a hint of savory aromatics.
Short Story
David Yee | Columbus, Ohio

Ingredients
- 2 parts 2 parts BOMBAY SAPPHIRE gin
- 3/4 parts Martini & Rossi Riserva Speciale Ambrato vermouth
- 3/4 parts lemon juice
- 3/4 parts wasabi syrup (see Editor’s Note)
- 1/4 parts weak ginger syrup (see Editor’s Note)
- 1 barspoon organic rice vinegar
Garnish: nori flake
Directions
- Shake all ingredients together.
- Strain the cocktail into a Collins glass over pebble ice.
- Clip nori flake to the lip of the glass.
Editor's Note
Wasabi syrup:
To make a small batch of this slightly rich simple syrup (1.25:1) combined with raw wasabi powder (1/20th of total weight), use 2 ounces sugar, 1.8 ounces water and a barspoon of raw wasabi powder.
Weak ginger syrup:
Combine white sugar, water and ginger juice in a 3:2:1 ratio, or use store-bought ginger syrup.