Fulfill your high-brow beverage wishes and your caviar dreams at Yacht Club, the award-winning “Best U.S. Cocktail Bar” with zero pretension and all the fun.
“The drink is soft, rich, and textural. It has some floral notes from the stone fruit with depth and nuance. While anyone will enjoy this drink, those who tend to order manhattans and old-fashioneds will really love this.”—McLain Hedges, co-owner, Yacht Club
Beginner’s Luck Cocktail
Ingredients
- 1½ oz. Dewar’s 12-Year-Old Blended Whisky or other malt whisky
- ½ oz. 10-year Madeira fortified wine
- ½ oz. Umeshu Japanese liqueur
- ½ oz. Martini Riserva Speciale Ambrato or Cocchi Americano
- ¼ tsp. Fermented Honey Syrup*
Directions
- Build in mixing glass, add ice, and stir for 10 seconds. Strain over a large ice cube into a rocks glass and garnish with a sesame honey cracker.
- *To make the Fermented Honey Syrup, add water to honey and let it sit at room temperature for a couple of days.
Ask the Bartender: McLain Hedges
The backstory: “The Beginner’s Luck is inspired by coastal Japan, leaning on the flavors of Umeshu, a Japanese ume plum liqueur, to give the drink its soft floral notes. It’s perfect for plum season—and it goes great with fresh stone fruits.”
Madeira musings: “Fortified wines are a pathway to new flavors in a cocktail, adding the body and acidity that a good drink needs.”
Pro tip: “You can always just use a regular honey syrup if you don’t have time to make the fermented version.”
Order it with: “It pairs well with a regular ketchup dog’s tart, sweet, spicy, and smoky flavors.”
Feeling fancy? “If you’re in a pinky-out mood, get the caviar dog. The tang of pickled shallots, the briny burst of caviar, the rich crème fraîche, and the overall salty notes play off the cocktail so the flavors of both pop. Each bite begs for another sip.”
Pair it with: “At home, make a nice tomato salad—plums and tomatoes go well together—and do a smoked or grilled pork chop, chicken, or mushrooms with a tomato or stone fruit sauce.”
The anti-club club: “Our vibe is like a boat crashed into a swamp and we used what we could salvage to build a bar—not too precious, comfortable, and fun.”
