Ramu Swizzle · Hojoko

Credit: Brian Samuels
By Eric Twardzik · 07/07/2017

First, a language lesson: Ramu means “rum” in Japanese.

That sugarcane-based spirit is the largest single ingredient in Hojoko’s Ramu Swizzle, a punchy cocktail that also features lemon juice, passionfruit, and both yellow and green chartreuse.

Its most interesting asset might just be a passionfruit-honey syrup, which adds a decidedly tropical note to the concoction. Hojoko co-bar manager Joe Cammarata uses Dafruta passionfruit concentrate (find it at a local bodega). The syrup is cold-processed; making it requires no cooking.

A final callback to Hojoko’s Japanese influence is the drink’s shiso leaf garnish, which lends a fresh, spicy aroma. Shiso can be found at most Asian grocery stores and Whole Foods, Cammarata notes, but rosemary or mint can be subbed in a pinch.

Sweet and sour, fruity and herbal, the Ramu Swizzle is a bit of everything—and precisely what you want in-hand peak summer.

Ramu Swizzle
1 ounce Privateer Silver Rum
¾ ounce yellow chartreuse
¼ ounce green chartreuse
¾ ounce fresh lemon juice
¾ ounce passionfruit honey syrup*
Peychaud’s bitters
Shiso leaf, to garnish

Combine ingredients in shaker filled with ice. Shake until chilled and strain into hurricane glass filled with crushed ice. Finish with a few dashes of Peychaud’s Bitters and garnish with shiso leaf.

*Passionfruit Honey Syrup
2 parts passionfruit concentrate
1 part clover honey
1 part water

Combine ingredients in glass and stir until combined. Syrup will keep two to three weeks, refrigerated.

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