Revisiting Jeremy Lin (the Cocktail)

Linsanity has plateaued somewhere far below its peak in New York City, but Jeremy Lin (the player) is still managing to play some excellent basketball. The news this morning captured the current state of the Knicks, “Fueled by a dose of Linsanity and a timely coaching change, the Knicks are making a furious charge toward a division title.” So, with Lin’s mini-resurgence, I decided to revisit the Jeremy Lin cocktail I created a month ago at the peak of Lin-diculousness. How Lin-diculous did things get? Well, the Thirsty South-devised cocktail made the Wall St. Journal. What!? (Scroll down in that link, apparently Rory McIlroy and Andrew Luck take precedent over a good cocktail!)

The day I created the cocktail, I didn’t even have the ingredients I wanted on hand. After all, not many folks have Kao Liang sitting around the house.  It was a “theoretical cocktail” (and I am now pursuing my PhD in Cocktail Theory, it takes about a lifetime to complete). Now, though, with Kao Liang in hand, I can present a slightly modified version of the recipe. As intended, this drink is strong, with bite and a nice zing to it, and an undercurrent of earthy mellow sweetness pinning it down. The combination of ginger and rhubarb and the slightly funky brown sugar-y notes of (sorghum-based) Kao Liang really works nicely. I’ve axed The King’s Ginger Liqueur in favor of Domaine de Canton, partly due to the fact that I CAN’T GET THE KING’S GINGER in Georgia, and partly because the Domaine de Canton is a bit more subtle and I think it allows the unusual flavors of the Kao Liang to come through. With that… enjoy!

The Jeremy Lin

Ingredients

  • 1.5 oz Kao Liang
  • 0.75 oz Domaine de Canton Ginger Liqueur
  • 0.25 oz fresh lemon juice
  • Dash Brooklyn Hemispherical Rhubarb Bitters

Shake ingredients over crushed ice like a madman. Strain into a chilled glass. Slam it home. 

Cocktails: The Jeremy Lin

Jeremy LinIf you follow the NBA even remotely, you’ve surely heard of Jeremy Lin, the Harvard-educated Asian-American player who is causing pandemonium in New York right now. He’s got poise, courage, and strength – and the world is in need of a cocktail with equally admirable attributes. The starting point has to be Kao Liang, probably the most high profile Taiwanese or Chinese spirit, and one that kicks ass as well. Next, something with verve and agilityThe King’s Ginger for sure (no offense, LeBron, but this King is not for you). Gotta have something FRESH and with zing…. a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, of course. Then to round it all out, something with a bit of bite, something New York, something distinctly American… a dash of Brooklyn Hemispherical Bitters Rhubarb Bitter.

Without further ado, Thirsty South presents…

The Jeremy Lin

Ingredients
1.5 oz Kao Liang
0.75 oz The King’s Ginger Liqueur (or Domaine de Canton – see this updated recipe!!!)
0.25 oz fresh lemon juice (gotta be fresh)
Dash Brooklyn Hemispherical Rhubarb Bitters

Shake ingredients over crushed ice like a madman. Strain into a chilled glass. Slam it home.