Pacific Cocktail Haven’s Kevin Diedrich loves pandan so much, his colleagues joke they should rename the spot “Pandan Cocktail Heaven.” So much so that the fragrant plant native to Southeast Asia takes multiple forms on any given menu at the bar, be it in a milk punch, a cordial used in a Negroni variation, or a flavoured syrup taking the place of the usual simple.
The latter takes centre stage in this summery, caramel-corn-evoking sipper, in the form of a salted pandan syrup. “We use pandan as a nice way to add a depth of nutty, grassy flavour to a cocktail,” says Diedrich. That depth is complemented in this cocktail by a combination of Japanese whisky, grassy rice shochu, and lemon juice—plus a festive, earthy sprinkle of candy cap mushroom dust, if you have it on hand.