这款鸡尾酒是为Nikka Perfect Serve鸡尾酒大赛创作的，所以，我自然希望能够体现Nikka from the Barrel威士忌的复杂和精细风味。这款调和型日本威士忌的装瓶强度达到51.4度，拥有调制鸡尾酒足够的强度和结构。对于这杯酒，我希望能够调出甜、酸和草本的风味，并且因为身在比利时，我也希望将本地原料运用其中。比利时有非常深厚的啤酒酿造传统，所以我决定采用一款啤酒。罗登巴赫特级啤酒是一款采用橡木陈年的深色爱尔啤酒，将它作为原料会十分有趣，因为它能够带来深沉、水果和微酸的风味，以及少许烘烤橡木的味道（可能在比利时以外不太容易找到这款啤酒，所以用其它带有果味的深色爱尔啤酒替代也可以）。卡帕诺安提卡配方是一款浓重、草本味的甜味美思，由皮埃蒙特麝香葡萄以及意大利红酒和白葡萄酒酿成，带有水果的香气，纯净而强劲。有时候它在混饮中会显得过于强势，但我认为强劲的Nikka威士忌可以恰当地对其进行平衡。调酒时我采用了斯维泽搅拌手法——斯维泽指的是一端分叉的细长木搅棒，同时也是一种酒的名称——因为我认为它需要一点炫技成分，同时也需要日式调酒的细心和仪式感（尽管斯维泽可能起源于十九世纪加勒比海的种植园）。此外我还想通过这杯酒显示，威士忌鸡尾酒不一定都是浓烈而男性化的，只适合在聚会场合中痛饮——就像《广告狂人》里那样。它也可以是清淡、清新和女性化的（哪怕使用了高度数的威士忌）。当然，由于我使用了碎冰，稀释度是个问题。所以这杯酒需要适当提高甜味，以便令风味持续到最后。而橙子带来了明快的甜味，柠檬汁则带来刺激和偏酸一点的结构。

This drink was made for Nikka Perfect Serve cocktail competition so, of course, the idea was to tease out the complexities and nuances of the whisky. Bottled at 51.4 per cent abv, this Japanese blend has the strength and the structure for mixing with cocktails. For this drink, I wanted to develop a sweet, sour and herbal profile and, being in Belgium, I wanted to use a local ingredient. Of course, Belgium has very strong brewing traditions so I decided to use a beer. Rodenback Grand Cru, an oak-aged dark ale, made for an interesting ingredient because of its potential to add dark, fruity and slightly sour notes as well its light streak of toasted oak (although it might be difficult to find outside of Belgium, a stand-in shouldn’t be too hard to find: other dark, red ales with fruity profiles should do the same job). Carpano Antica Formula is a rich, herbal, sweet vermouth made from Piedmont muscatel and Italian red and white wines which has a good fruity purity and quite a powerful expression of flavours. Sometimes, it can be too overwhelming in a mixed drink but I think in this case it’s tempered with the strength of the Nikka whisky. I use the swizzle technique to make this drink – so-called after the long-stemmed, pronged wooden stick used to mix, or “swizzle”, the drink – because, for me, it requires a bit of showmanship as well as the carful, ritualistic kind of skill that I associate with Japanese bartending (even though the practice originated in the plantations of the Caribbean, probably in the 19th century). Plus, I wanted to show that whisky drinks don’t necessarily have to be hulky, butch, spirituous libations for heavy, Mad Men-esque session drinking. They can also be light, refreshing and feminine, too (even high strength whisky). Of course, as I’m using crushed ice, dilution is an issue. So the drink needs a slightly sweeter profile that lasts to the last sip. So orange brings a bright, sweet freshness while a small amount of lemon juice adds tang and a bit more acidic structure.

Swizzle from the Barrel

• 45ml Nikka from the Barrel威士忌（或原桶强度威士忌）
• 15ml 卡帕诺安提卡配方味美思
• 10ml 罗登巴赫特级啤酒糖浆（或其它果味、厚重的深色爱尔啤酒）*
• 20ml 橙汁
• 10ml 柠檬汁
• 1吧勺 阿拉伯树胶糖酱

将所有原料倒入大型干邑品酒杯，装满碎冰后用斯维泽搅棒搅匀

* 在平底锅中放入一杯白糖和一杯啤酒，用小火使糖融化。

** 将斯维泽搅棒分叉的一端插入杯子底部，另一端则用双手夹住，用掌心迅速转动搅棒并同时轻轻上下拉动。

• 45ml Nikka from the Barrel (or other cask-strength whisky)
• 15ml Carpano Antica Formula
• 10ml Rodenbach Grand Cru beer syrup (or any other dark ale with rich, fruit profile)*
• 20ml Orange juice
• 10ml Lemon juice
• 1bsp Arabic gum syrup

* Combine one cup of white sugar with one cup of beer in a saucepan; dissolve the sugar over a low heat.

**Place the pronged end of the swizzle stick into the drink; place the end of the stick between both hands and rotate the shaft of the stick between each palm rigorously while gently moving the stick up and down.