u/awesomefriendlykid

Hi folks, i’m looking to make a yuzu infused cointreau for a few new drinks. I’m unsure if steeping the peels of 2-3 fresh yuzu’s directly in the liqueur for a few days to a week will be sufficient (have seen this done before with gin and lemon peels). Assuming it’ll be fine, but brings me to the next thing - whether it’ll be too difficult to get ahold of fresh yuzu in my part of the US, as i’m from good old Chicago. Luckily, yellow yuzu season is upon us. Still, I like to plan for all possible outcomes, and could see potentially just using a yuzu juice or wine but it’s all new territory for me.

Go easy on this fresh meat… thanks for the help

Final bit of context - uncertain the best cocktail uses for this yuzu cointreau, and I know about Pierre Ferrand late harvest dry yuzu curaçao, but tough to get with our distributor. Was thinking in a ritzed up sidecar..? With some osmanthus blossom

I was given the opportunity to craft a new cocktail menu for a fine dining restaurant I work at. Itll be my first time ever doing something like this. The Chef, aka the owner, is always changing the menu and keeping things really fresh for customers. In that way, he wants me to adopt the same mentality of being “experimental and groundbreaking”. He said to try incorporating cashew apple juice, for one funny idea.

I think that this all is a viable approach. We get people from many walks of life, but it is still pretty damn expensive food. I want the cocktail menu to fit in with the regular menu though (American cuisine) via the aesthetic of the drinks, as well as quality ingredients. Trying not to fuck it up haha.

I’m unsure how to approach crafting such a personalized menu, but I am thinking a good place to start is in maintaining balance of flavors and spirits. A bitter, a sweet, warm, tangy, etc? But also, how to fine tune my selection process for what drinks deserve a place on this limited (10 cocktails max) menu.

I hope i’ve provided enough info about the establishment. Thanks for any advice, really! Hope to make smth amazing.