7) MANGO

Service: very professional and friendly.
Facilities: great washroom, great cleanliness overall.
Prices: reasonable, good value.
Strong points: Fruit cocktails. Cozy and a comfortable, for ladies and gentlemen alike.

This is the eighth recipe of a (hopefully long) series of cocktails concocted by Wataru Matsumoto, owner/bartender at BOTANICAL (Comfort bar) in Shizuoka City.
No worries about copyrights as Mr. Matsumoto is only too happy to share his secrets!

Apple Mango from Mexico.

INGREDIENTS:

-Apple Mango (Mexic): 1/4, peeled and cut into small pieces
-Iced tea: 50 cc/ml
-Orange juice (freshly pressed): 30 cc/ml
-White Rum: 1 measure (Bacardi)
-Monin Mangue (Mango) syrop (syrup): 1 dash
-Ice: 1/2 cup, 100 cc/ml

Summer Snow Tea by Mariage Freres (France)

Make tea in large glass. Drop some tea and pour hotwater over it.
When tea is ready, pour over ice in a large stir glass and stir until chilled.

Pour the tea into a medium-sized white wine glass.

In an electric mixer drop the ice, cut mango, white rum and mango syrup.
Process until you obtain a smoothie-type mixture.

Pour the smoothie delicately over the iced tea, taking care not to mix the two. Use a spoon to let the smoothie “slide” onto the tea.
Top with a sprig of fresh mint and serve with one or two thin straws.

Drink it “through”!

The combination of the tea and the mango decreases the cloyness of the mango and the acidity of the tea, making for a great smooth marriage!

BOTANICAL (Comfort Bar)
420-0082 Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Ryogae-cho, 1-6-13, Shade Bldg, 1F
Tel.: 054-221-8686
Opening hours: 17:00~01:00
Closed on Mondays.
Credit Cards OK
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8) WATERMELON

INGREDIENTS:

-Salt
-Lime: 1/2
-Vodka (Smirnoff): 1 measure
-Watermelon: as appropriate
-Large ice cube

RECIPE

-Choose a tulip glass with a wide enough rim. Coat the rim with lime juice with a half cut lime.
Pour good quality salt on a saucer. Turn the glass upside down onto the saucer so as to allow enough salt to coat the glass rim.

-Drop a large enough ice cube in the glass. Pour the vodaka over it.

-Cut enough watermelon and blend lightly so as to preserve the “crunchy bite” of the watermelon.
Pour over the ice and stir gently with a long spoon.

-It is nothing else but a watermelon salty Dog!

Drinks, “eats” very quickly, so have a care! LOL
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9) PEACH

INGREDIENTS:

-1 medium-size peach
-Monin Peche syrup: 1 dash
-Monin Grenadine: 1 dash
-Pernod: a few drops
-Mumm Champagne: 45 cc/ml + 45 cc/ml

RECIPE:

-Peel only half of the peach. The other half will go into the cocktail and provide good nutrients!
Cut in rough quarters, Get rid of the seed!

-In a blender drop all the ingredients without the champagne.
Add some crushed ice and blend well.
Add 45 cc/ml of champagne in the blender. Hand mix inside the blender.

-Choose a medium size globe glass and drop a cube of ice inside.

-Pour the blender contents on top of the ice.

-Slowly pour 45 cc/ml more of Mumm Champagne to allow some foam to form on the top.

-Serve wit a star anise floating on top.

It’s nothing else but a variety of Bellini cocktail!
Makes for a beautiful sour and sweet combination.
Tends to disappear quickly, so think about the next one!
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10) Organic Tomatoes Bloody Mary

Wataru Matsumoto in action (in the dark!)!

Bio Farm Matsuki Organic Tomatoes bought at Parco, Shizuoka City!

Now today’s recipe has more than one twist!
!) Real tomatoes are used instead of tomato juice!
2) The tomatoes are organic!
3) The tomatoes are local as they are grown at Bio Farm Matsuki in Shibakawa, Fujinomita City, at the foot of Mount Fuji!

INGREDIENTS:

-Plum tomatoes: medium-small x 6~8, medium-large x 3
-Vodka (Smirnoff in this case): 1 measure
-Rock salt a little

Keep it simple so as to preserve the real taste of the tomatoes!

RECIPE:

-“Grate” the juice out the tomaoes. Wataru uses a ceramic grater. Do not use a mixer or blender. You will lose to many nutriendt and end up with a “soup”!

-Wataru uses two tumblers of different sizes to shake the whole. In the smaller tumbler pour the tomato juice over a minimum of ice. Add salt and vodka. “Cap” the smaller tumbler with the larger one and shake only lightly.

-Pour through strainer into semi-long glass over a couple of glass cubes and serve as it is.
Simple is best!

Makes for a great aperitif in summer!
Ladies will love it!

BOTANICAL (Comfort Bar)
420-0082 Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Ryogae-cho, 1-6-13, Shade Bldg, 1F
Tel.: 054-221-8686
Opening hours: 17:00~01:00
Closed on Mondays.
Credit Cards OK

BIO FARM MATSUKI
〒419-0303 Shizuoka Prefecture, Fujinomiya City, Ooshikakubo, 1158-36
TEL 0544-66-0353
FAX 0544-67-0098
HOMEPAGE (Japanese)
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11) Grapefruit

INGREDIENTS:

-1 Whole grapefruit
-Fresh whole rosemary: 1 sprig
-Vodka: 3 measures (will need only 1 for the cocktail itself!)

RECIPE:

-Let rosemary soak into vodka for a good hour before usage.

-Cut grapefruit in half. Cut out the core (bitter!). Press grapefruit juice out.

-Pass fresh rosemary along the rim of a large glass. Pour some salt on a plate and coat the rim of the glass with the salt. You couls also first grind salt and fresh rosemary in mortar with a pestle first and coat the glass with the mixture!

-Drop a large sphere of ice inside the glass.

-In a stir glass pour the grapefruit juice and 1 measure of rosemary vodka. Stir. pour over ice into the glass.

-Serve.

-Great and refreshing in summer! Perfect as an aperitif, too!

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12) Strawberries

This article could well been titled “Strawberries: From the Shizuoka Producer to the Gastronomic Table: Cocktails at Botanical!

After Gentil, I went to visit my good friend, Wataru Matumoto/松本亙, bartender/owner at Botanical, Shizuoka City to ask him to create a couple of his famous fruit cocktails with the Ookimi and Tokun Strawberries from Yaizu City!

Ookimi Strawberries on the left and Toukun Strawberries on the right!

Toukun Strawberry Cocktail (Cai Pirigna style)

These strawberries have a very strong perfume of peaches although their taste is llight and elegant.

INGREDIENTS:

-Strawberries: 2 large, diced
-Cachaca 51 (Brazilian Sugar cane rum, 40 degrees proof): 1 measure
-Sugar: 2~3 teaspoons
-Lime juice, 1 cut
-Crushed ice: 1 cup

RECIPE:

-Dice/cut the strawberries
-In a large glass drop the strawberries and all other ingredients.
-Shake the whole Boston-style.
-Pour in a “rock glass”.
-Top with some more crushed ice and decorate with a strawberry.

Keep a spoon handy, especially if you are in a hurry.
You can either drink this very refreshing cocktail slowly or eat it!
Rum enhances the strawberries for a very elegant drink

Ookimi Strawberry Champagne Cocktail

These strawberries have a great balance bewteen sweetness and acidity and an elegant taste.

INGREDIENTS:

-Ookimi Strawberries: 3
-Syrup: 1~2 teaspoons
-Mumm Champagne: 1 measure
-Absinthe/Pastis: half a teaspoon
-Crushed ice: just a little

RECIPE:

-Pour all the ingredients into a blender and blend well.
-Add 1 more measure of Mumm Champagen and pour into a long glass.
Decorate with a star anise seed.

Very elegant with the sweetness of the strawberries appearing late on your palate!