Chai No Lait: A Chai Gin Sour

Name: Chai No Lait: A Chai Gin Sour
Yield: 10
Cuisine: American

Recipe: Jeremy Buck , Coterie , Charleston

Photo: Jonathan Cooper/ @iamcoopernicus_

September 01, 2023

A gin sour with a nod to a coffeehouse favorite.

This chai gin sour, inspired by the chai latte, gets its milky texture from an unfiltered nigori sake. Simply dash Angostura bitters across the top to help play up the chai’s masala notes or try to create bitters art, a nod to latte art, using drink creator Jeremy Buck’s tips (see Note).

Ingredients

1 1/2 oz. chai masala-infused gin (a floral gin works really well)
1 1/2 oz. nigori sake
1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice
1/2 oz. demerara syrup (2:1 sugar:water)
egg white
Angostura bitters

Tools:shaker, fine-mesh strainer
Glass:coupe
Garnish:bitters

Preparation

Place all ingredients except bitters in a tin and dry shake (shake without ice). Add ice and shake again. Fine strain into a coupe.

Chai Masala-Infused GinPlace 4-5 Tbsp. chai masala (chai-black tea, masala-spice blend) in 750ml gin bottle. Invert and let sit for 1.5-2 hours, inverting every once and a while. Be careful not to oversteep or it will get bitter. When the chai masala flavor is to your liking, fine strain out the tea and spices from the gin and it is good to go.

NoteTo add Angostura art, use a glass bitters bottle for better control. Draw the bottle across the glass upside down with a flick of the wrist. This will give you a straight line that you can pull to either side with a pick. Or create your own design and have fun with it.