Oriental Old Fashioned

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We recently “met” Suntory TOKI whisky at the really terrific, third-generation, local business, Gary’s Liquors. An unexpected and HUUUGE bonus at Gary’s Liquor on a busy day before Thanksgiving was the easy parking and quick in and out!!!

Suntory 100th Annivery Japanese TOKI Whisky

Created for the 100th Anniversary of the founding house of Japanese whisky, TOKI is a blend of carefully selected whiskies from the House of Suntory. The TOKI presents a satisfying palate of balance, harmony, and smoothness. It was created under the watchful eye of Shingo Torii, a third-generation Master Blender (and great-grandson of founder Shinjiro Torii) and developed by Chief Blender Shinji Fukuyo.

Oriental Old Fashioned

With a whisky that delicious, we knew we had honor it with its an Old Fashioned recipe of our own design. Given its Eastern origin, we came up with the following:

• 2 oz Suntory TOKI Whisky;
• 1 oz Barsmith Simple Syrup; and
• 3 dashes of hella Orange bitters

• 1 slice of Mandarin orange peel…made using the new-to-us channel knife
• ice cubes

Channel Knife

For a long time, we knew our Old Fashioned cocktails were missing a certain “brightness” that comes from well-formed orange peel garnish. We thought we could cut a proper one using a paring knife, but we had to admit that we really couldn’t. We were recently gifted a channel knife…and our cocktails got ten times better in an instant!

A channel knife creates garnishes of just the right thickness, which makes it easy to release the essence and oils, and to twist/shape. This is a key tool and we are forever grateful for its addition to our cocktail toolset!!!

Links to items mentioned:

• Suntory Toki 100th Anniversary Japanese Whisky
• Barsmith Simple Sugar
• hella Orange Bitters
• Channel knife