The Sequoia cocktail from Dovetail in New Orleans mixes ingredients more commonly found in Chinese food to make one of the bar’s most popular drinks
Cucumber, peanuts, and sesame oil might not be the first ingredients to come to mind when thinking of cocktails, but they certainly work in the Sequoia. Like many of the drinks at this New Orleans joint, the name itself was inspired by the bar’s wood surroundings. The drink’s ingredients, however, were inspired by a local Chinese-American pop-up and it’s become one of the hotel bar’s most popular orders.
Dovetail Lead bartender Andy Pratt tells us…
Name the cocktail:
Sequoia by Andy Pratt
What inspired the name?
We often use ‘wood’ terms for our cocktail names, as a nod to the building’s historical past. The bold flavoring in this cocktail reminds us of the powerful presence of Sequoia trees.
What’s this drink’s origin story?
This cocktail was inspired by a dish from New Orleans pop-up Chinese-American food vendor Get Your Mom and Dim Sum. It was a cucumber salad in a savory peanut sauce topped with mint. That combination of flavors made total sense in a cocktail.
We chose this one based on its creativity and appeal. Despite having non-traditional flavor combinations for a cocktail, it has become one of our most popular. This fits well into our ethos of creating an elevated experience in an approachable setting.
Ingredients:
- 2 oz Peanut-Infused Gin*
- 1 oz Lemon
- .5 oz 1:1 simple syrup
- .25 oz ginger syrup**
- 5 drops 20% MSG water solution
- 5 drops sesame oil
- Cucumber slice
- Egg white
- Tonic
- Garnish: Black sesame seeds and torn mint
*Peanut-Infused Gin: Weigh out 150g of roasted, unsalted peanuts. Muddle to the consistency of fine gravel. Combine them in an iSi canister with 800g of London Dry Gin. Charge with 2 NO2 cartridges and shake. Let it sit for 15 minutes, shaking occasionally. Release the pressure and strain.
**Ginger Syrup: Juice any amount of ginger with a masticating juicer. Allow the liquid to set for 10 minutes, allowing the starch to settle. Weigh the ginger juice, and combine an equal weight of granulated sugar. Mix with an immersion blender until all the sugar is dissolved.
Directions:
- Add all ingredients except tonic to a shaker and dry shake for 10 seconds
- Add ice and shake for another 10-15 seconds
- Strain into a chilled lowball
- Add a bit of tonic to the empty tin (it should foam up)
- Add the tonic foam to the cocktail, garnish, and serve
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