Tropical, zesty and fresh, let the pandan obsession begin.
About the cocktail
Before you Google ‘what does pandan taste like?’, let us tell you. It’s much quicker than opening a new tab. Pandan is a sweet, aromatic plant from South East Asia, quite akin to vanilla, but with a grassier edge. Toasty coconut notes make these leaves ideal for desserts, but pandan is also great steamed with rice, stirred through savoury sauces and in cocktails. Especially this Pandan Peach Fizz. If you’re already a pandan person, here’s yet another reason to chase down these fragrant leaves. We are very much pandan people. And with love for this ingredient growing (it’s bloody everywhere right now) we just had to get our master cocktail wizards to whip up a brand new recipe. We landed here, and boy are we happy with it. It’s not too dissimilar to the Fast Canoe – the whisky-based ginger beer highball enriched with pandan syrup, not a speeding water vessel – with the same tropical backbone, but less spice and more of a zesty kick. The good kind. The one that comes from the tartness of pineapple and lime juice combined. But it’s not mouth-puckering, thanks to the balancing sweetness of the pandan honey syrup. Once you’ve made the syrup (don’t worry – it’s quick and easy), you’ll see that the pandan leaf is much brighter than it is earthy. This means it pairs seamlessly with a summery peach liqueur. With all flavours aligned, all you have to do is shake it up and top with soda water to make this cocktail the real fizzy deal. Garnish with a fresh sprig of mint, a wedge of lime and a pandan leaf for that extra aromatic freshness.
Watch: How to make Pandan Peach Fizz cocktail
Ingredients: Pandan and honey syrup
3 pandan leaves, cut into thin strips 150mL water 150g honey
Ingredients: Cocktail
15mL pandan and honey syrup 30mL whisky (blended Scotch, bourbon or Japanese whisky would all work well here) 15mL peach liqueur 30mL pineapple juice 15mL lime juice Soda, to top Glass: Collins or tall Garnish: pandan leaf, mint and lime wedge
Method : Pandan and Honey Syrup
Add the pandan leaves to a pot, add the water and simmer on low heat for 5 minutes Take off the heat, add the honey, stir to dissolve, and allow it to steep for 2 hours Strain into a jar or container and keep in the fridge
Method : Cocktail
Add all ingredients, except for the soda, to a cocktail shaker Add cubed ice, and shake until the outside of the tin is frosty Strain the drink into your glass Top with soda, and fill with plenty of cubed ice Garnish with the pandan leaf, mint and lime wedge
Dan’s top tips
If making the syrup has you hesitating, rest assured it’s well worth the extra effort. Asian grocers are your best bet for finding these leaves – often frozen – or any good grocers, for that matter. Once you’ve sourced them, treat your pandan with the utmost respect by giving it the full two hours of steeping time with honey. Thankfully it’s completely hands-off, so you can get back to thinking about what whisky to use. Japanese whisky or a blended Scotch are the preferred picks here for their lighter flavour profiles as we’re after a whisky that complements, rather than overpowers. Although, when it comes to fruit juice, it’s the opposite – the punchier the better. As with all cases, freshly squeezed lime is best. The same goes for pineapple, or if that’s not possible, opt for a good-quality bottled option. The pandan honey syrup balances this all out beautifully. For more tastes of the tropics, try the Pineapple and Coconut Margarita, Bahama Mama, and Snake Eyes.
image credits: Shelley Horan (photography), Raye Scerri (videography), LSS (production)
