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What drinks to make with pandan liqueur

How to use this liqueur featuring the Southeast Asian plant pandan

By
Nico de Soto
KOTA Pandan Liqueur

The essential spirits used in most cocktails might be a limited group, but where you can really explore many different flavors in your home bar is in the world of liqueurs. You’ll find small regional brands producing liqueurs featuring everything from sour cherry to bison grass and these are a great way to experiment with flavors that are difficult to get in a fresh form where you are.

That’s the case with ingredients like pandan, a tropical plant frequently used in Southeast Asian cuisine. While you do occasionally find it used in cocktails in the west, it’s a rarity. But a new brand of pandan liqueur, KOTA, aims to change that with its launch this month.

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“I fell in love with pandan more than 15 years ago and have incorporated the essence of this Southeast Asian leaf into my cocktails since then, with my own handmade syrups,” says KOTA creator Nico de Soto. “If you walked into any one of my bars, you’d always find a pandan cocktail on the menu. It’s been my dream to create a bottled pandan liqueur that I could share with my fellow bartender pandan fans, as well as for the home bartender looking for something exceptionally flavorful. KOTA Pandan Liqueur is the answer to this dream, and I am so proud to see it on bars throughout Europe and looking forward to the same in the US. I am happy to bring pandan to the people!”

Kota Daiquiri

Kota Daiquiri
KOTA Pandan Liqueur

Ingredients:

  • 1 oz KOTA Pandan Liqueur
  • 1 oz Planteray Three Stars White Rum
  • .75 oz fresh lime juice
  • .25 oz rich simple syrup

Method:

Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a Nick & Nora glass.

Kota Margarita

Kota Margarita
KOTA Pandan Liqueur

Ingredients:

  • .75 oz KOTA Pandan Liqueur
  • 2 oz blanco tequila
  • .75 oz fresh lime juice
  • .25 oz agave nectar

Method:

Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a rocks glass with ice.

The Pandan Espresso Martini

Pandan Espresso Martini
KOTA Pandan Liqueur

Ingredients:

  • 1 oz KOTA Pandan Liqueur
  • 1 oz Ferrand 1840 Cognac
  • 1.5 oz cold brew
  • .25 oz rich simple syrup
  • 4 drops saline solution

Method:

Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a coupe.

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