Bar: Asoka
Address: 68 Kloof Street, Cape Town
021 422 0909
Cocktail: The Maker’s Mark Whiskey Sour
Price: R58
Ingredients: Double shot of Maker’s Mark bourbon, egg white, lime juice, white sugar and Angostura bitters
Finally, I’ve found a cocktail for the lads.
Made with quality bourbon, the drink is created by combining the ingredients in a shaker with a cube of ice which is shaken vigorously to form a good foam. This is strained with a Hawthorne strainer into a tumbler and garnished with cherries and that rarity in bars – actual lime (not cordial). Snipped straws are slipped into the tumbler. Barman Phillip Banda serves the drink on a black serviette.
The egg white floats to the top, creating the foam. Loaded with ice, the bitters helps to bring out the sour bourbon taste. This is balanced by the sugar. The final treat is the cherry, a sweet bite after the sour bourbon.
Asoka general manager Wesley Sheehan says the man-friendly drink is a classic popular around the world. He says women prefer the Amaretto Sour, which is made with a sweeter liqueur.
Asoka is an Asian-themed cocktail lounge in Kloof Street. Upon entering, one smells incense sticks burning. At the back is an old olive tree decorated with fairy lights around which the restaurant is built. Above the tree is a fibre glass roof. A large Buddha is set at the back bar.
I suggest sitting at the bar for your cocktail. Banda is quite interactive about his drink making.
Sheehan says their target market is 25- to 40-year-olds.
Smoking is allowed on the front deck.
* Asoka is open from 5pm to 2am Monday to Saturday and can be booked for functions. - Weekend Argus