Whisky and roasted tea.
This was always going to work.
An Old Fashioned is one of those drinks that does not need much messing around with. Whisky, sweetness, bitters and ice already make a very convincing argument.
So we are not here to reinvent it.
We are just giving it hojicha.
The roasted, nutty character of Japanese hojicha works beautifully alongside the deeper flavours of whisky, adding another layer of toastiness without taking over the drink.
Familiar enough to still be an Old Fashioned.
Different enough to make you want another sip.
Hojicha Old Fashioned Recipe
Makes one cocktail
Whisky: 50ml
Hojicha: 3g Jeeves & Jericho Hojicha
Water for hojicha: 30ml
Prepared hojicha used in cocktail: 15ml
Ingredients
50ml bourbon, rye or whisky of your choice
3g Jeeves & Jericho Hojicha
30ml hot water
10ml brown sugar syrup
2 dashes aromatic bitters
Plenty of ice
Orange peel to garnish
First, make the hojicha
Add 3g of Jeeves & Jericho Hojicha to a bowl.
Pour over 30ml of hot water.
Whisk until completely smooth.
For the cocktail itself, you will only need 15ml of this prepared hojicha.
Why make 30ml?
Because that is the ratio we use to prepare our hojicha properly, and we would rather make a good hojicha and use what we need than make a tiny concentrated version and hope for the best.
Keep the rest for another drink.
Or make two Old Fashioneds.
Problem solved.
Build the drink
Add 50ml of your chosen whisky, 15ml of prepared hojicha, 10ml of brown sugar syrup and 2 dashes of aromatic bitters to a mixing glass.
Fill with ice.
Stir until everything is properly chilled and slightly diluted.
Take your time here.
This is an Old Fashioned.
Nobody is rushing you.
Strain into a short glass over one large piece of ice.
Take a strip of orange peel and twist it over the glass to release the oils, then drop it in.
Done.
Why does hojicha work with whisky?
Roasting gives hojicha flavours you do not normally expect from green tea.
Toast.
Nuts.
Caramel.
A little smokiness.
Whisky can bring many of those same deeper characteristics, alongside vanilla, oak, spice and fruit depending on what you pour.
Put the two together and they find plenty to talk about.
The hojicha does not need to dominate.
It sits underneath the whisky, adding another roasted layer and making the drink feel a little more complex.
Exactly where we want it.
What whisky should I use?
Start with something you already enjoy in an Old Fashioned.
Whichever style you choose, use 50ml per cocktail.
Bourbon is an easy place to begin.
Its natural vanilla, caramel and oak characteristics work particularly well with the roasted flavour of hojicha.
But there is plenty of room to experiment.
A spicy rye will make the drink sharper and drier.
A Japanese whisky can create a lighter, more delicate version.
Something with a little smoke can take the roasted side of the drink much further.
Different whisky.
Different Old Fashioned.
Same hojicha.
What is brown sugar syrup?
Simple syrup wearing a slightly better coat.
Combine equal quantities of light brown sugar and hot water, then stir until completely dissolved.
For example, mix 100g of light brown sugar with 100ml of hot water.
Let it cool before using.
The deeper caramel flavour of brown sugar works particularly well here, but ordinary simple syrup will also do the job.
Do not let the lack of brown sugar stand between you and a cocktail.
Why not just infuse the whisky with hojicha?
You absolutely can.
Infusing spirits with tea opens up all sorts of possibilities, and hojicha is particularly well suited to it.
But for this recipe, we wanted something you could make without preparing a bottle of infused whisky in advance.
Using freshly prepared hojicha also keeps the tea preparation familiar.
Measure.
Add water.
Whisk.
Then build the drink.
If you are making Hojicha Old Fashioneds regularly in a bar or café, experimenting with a batch infusion could be a very interesting next step.
Keep the sweetness under control
Hojicha has an almost caramel like character of its own.
Bourbon can be naturally sweet.
Then we are adding sugar.
So there is no need to get carried away.
Ten millilitres of brown sugar syrup is a good starting point.
If you prefer a drier Old Fashioned, use less.
The aim is to soften the edges of the drink, not turn it into dessert.
Let the whisky and tea do the interesting work.
Make it café ready
For cafés moving into evening service, hojicha gives you a lot to play with.
You can serve it as a latte during the day and then take the same roasted flavour somewhere completely different at night.
The preparation is straightforward and most of the ingredients are familiar territory for anyone already making classic cocktails.
It also gives your team a very easy story to tell.
An Old Fashioned with roasted Japanese tea.
That is usually enough to make someone curious.
Make it your own
Try maple syrup instead of brown sugar syrup.
Use rye instead of bourbon.
Add orange bitters.
Experiment with Japanese whisky.
Or make the classic version first and decide what it needs.
That is usually the better way around.
Whisky. Bitters. Orange. Roasted Japanese tea.
The Old Fashioned was not asking for an update.
But hojicha made a pretty good case for one.