Pouring a convivial spirit — without the spirits
When Juyoung Kang was a child, she desperately wanted to try Orangina. One problem: her mother wouldn’t let her have it. Despite Kang’s attempts to prove Orangina was booze-free, her mom stood firm. So Kang came up with a solution: Sprite and orange juice. It was sweet, fizzy, tart, and, in retrospect, the first of many drinks she’d mix.
Today Kang is the lead bartender at The Dorsey, a craft cocktail bar at the Venetian that specializes in seasonal drinks made with fresh juices. The bar has a couple of mocktails on its menu at any given time, and Kang helps dream them up: melon in summer, pomegranate or cranberry in fall. The Garden Party is a perennial favorite, a zingy green apple and cucumber juice, souped up with mint, lime, sugar, and soda. It’s poured over a hand-carved ice cube and garnished with thinly sliced apple, fanned out over the rim. “It’s about being inclusive and having something for everyone,” Kang says of their mocktail-friendly menu. Here’s the Garden Party recipe for when you want to take the party home.
Photo courtesy of The Venetian.
Garden Party from The Dorsey
2 oz fresh green apple juice
1 oz fresh cucumber juice
.5 oz fresh lime juice
.5 oz simple syrup
10 mint leaves
Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker. Add ice and shake. Add club soda and strain ingredients over fresh ice. Top off with club soda. Garnish with three to four half-moon slices of green apples, and serve in a Collins glass.
