Over winter, Frisk. Small Bar in Northbridge turned heads with a cocktail list inspired by Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (1991) – each drink built around one of the game’s eight playable characters (and the car, of course), all crafted with Japanese spirits.
“The Red Cyclone is the alter ego of Zangief,” says John McAndrew, co-owner, and cocktail creator. “He’s the grappling Russian character from the game – known as a national icon and for wrestling bears in Siberia.”
Using both vodka and food as their muse, McAndrew says the team “settled on the savoury delicacy that is borscht as the idea of the drink.” The result was a vivid, umami-laden cocktail that nods to Russia’s favourite fighter with a clever culinary twist.
“A classic sour but incorporating the flavours of cabbage, beetroot, chilli and thyme,” McAndrew describes it as “sour and earthy but not unlike a Bloody Mary.”
Ingredients:
45ml Red cabbage infused vodka
30ml Beetroot shrub
20ml Lemon
15ml Chilli thyme syrup
Dash of aquafaba
Method:
Wet / Dry double strain – coupe
Garnish: Cracked pepper