Experimenting with texture is one way to make cocktails distinctive. Since Taiwanese teahouses made flavoured teas with chewy sago balls popular, drinkers have been open to having gooey lumps in their beverages, although this hadn't - until now - translated to the world of mixology.
At Qube+, a hip new Italian eatery and bar in Central, a curious mix of orange jelly and marmalade makes the QuTini a standout. Club manager Chris Lee says he wanted to play with the ingredients so drinkers have something to chew on in an otherwise traditional cocktail of vodka, orange juice
and Curacao.
Lee also likes to use tea in his drinks, adding a peppermint infusion to boost the flavour of the fresh mint leaves of his Mint Fruit Martini. He's now experimenting with ways to incorporate Earl Grey and rosehip teas into cocktails.
'Tea works well with alcohol,' explains Lee. 'It makes the flavour outstanding.'
Lee says many of his customers like 'virgin', or non-alcoholic, drinks and his recipes are created so they taste just as good without the liquor. It keeps things simple and avoids cocktail envy at the table.