Lost cocktails of the Bali Hai, San Diego - Tiki Drinks and Food

A arriano Tiki Socialite San Diego Joined: Jun 13, 2006 Posts: 1603	A arriano Posted posted on Fri, Mar 28, 2014 9:20 AM Howdy! Finally getting back to this topic. Our latest recreation is... Sak-ini! The old Bali Hai menus listed this cocktail as "the driest martini made." According to a Wikipedia article, the saketini was invented by a Japanese chef name Matsuda San who served the drink at the 1964 New York World’s Fair. I've always thought that the old Bali Hai menus (shown on the first page of this thread) were from the 1950s, due to the fact that it lists Cuban rum for one of the cocktails. So I have to wonder if Matsuda San actually invented this drink. Perhaps he did and had served it elsewhere before the '64 Fair. Whatever the case, various recipes can be found on the web with no clear distinction on what the ratio of gin to sake should be. Likewise, the garnish seems to be anyone’s whim. I found recipes calling for an olive, a lemon twist, a melon ball, and a cucumber slice. The Bali Hai menu doesn’t give much of a clue, only listing the two ingredients. SAK-INI 2 oz Dry Gin (I used Gordon’s) ½ oz Sake (I used Hakutsuru Dry Sake) Shake well with ice. Strain into a martini glass. Garnish with an olive. I should note that I am not a martini guy. Well, actually I’m not even a gin guy. And to top it off, I'm not much of a sake guy either. So to me this seemed like drinking a fragrant, but bitter pill. So to get some objectivity, I invited a couple of friends over who are fans of gin cocktails. They both liked it and felt the flavor of the sake came through well, but didn't overpower the gin. And they both said, "Wow, that is dry."

Howdy! Finally getting back to this topic. Our latest recreation is... Sak-ini!

The old Bali Hai menus listed this cocktail as "the driest martini made." According to a Wikipedia article, the saketini was invented by a Japanese chef name Matsuda San who served the drink at the 1964 New York World’s Fair. I've always thought that the old Bali Hai menus (shown on the first page of this thread) were from the 1950s, due to the fact that it lists Cuban rum for one of the cocktails. So I have to wonder if Matsuda San actually invented this drink. Perhaps he did and had served it elsewhere before the '64 Fair.

Whatever the case, various recipes can be found on the web with no clear distinction on what the ratio of gin to sake should be. Likewise, the garnish seems to be anyone’s whim. I found recipes calling for an olive, a lemon twist, a melon ball, and a cucumber slice. The Bali Hai menu doesn’t give much of a clue, only listing the two ingredients.

SAK-INI
2 oz Dry Gin (I used Gordon’s)
½ oz Sake (I used Hakutsuru Dry Sake)

Shake well with ice. Strain into a martini glass. Garnish with an olive. I should note that I am not a martini guy. Well, actually I’m not even a gin guy. And to top it off, I'm not much of a sake guy either. So to me this seemed like drinking a fragrant, but bitter pill. So to get some objectivity, I invited a couple of friends over who are fans of gin cocktails. They both liked it and felt the flavor of the sake came through well, but didn't overpower the gin. And they both said, "Wow, that is dry."

Post #712363 by arriano on Fri, Mar 28, 2014 9:20 AM