Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Nighttime spreads its cloak

Shibuya Nights is a virtuoso of distilled contradictions

“The drink is old meets new,” Asseri says.
“The drink is old meets new,” Asseri says.
Faisal Asseri

The Cloak & Petal’s bar manager Faisal Asseri explains that the name for Little Italy’s Japanese-inspired restaurant blends opposites to form a new whole. “Cloak” communicates mystery and intrigue, and “Petal” is a rough English equivalent of hanami, the Japanese word (literally “flower watching”) for welcoming the first cherry blossoms of spring. Thus the name comes together like a Japanese haiku:

Nighttime spreads its cloak

Beneath spring’s breezy petals—

Sponsored
Sponsored

Sun and shadow dance.

And much like a haiku, the Cloak & Petal’s newest Japanese-inspired cocktail Shibuya Nights is also a virtuoso of distilled contradictions.

“The drink is old meets new,” Asseri says, “the Old Fashioned matched with Suntory Toki, the newest Japanese whisky out there.”(The Japanese, inspired by the Scots to take up whisky-making in the first place, drop the “e” from “whisky,” in contrast to Irish and American “whiskey.”)

The cocktail’s name, Asseri says, invokes the Shibuya section of Tokyo, Japan’s answer to Bourbon Street, history-rich and buzzing with a boozy electric nightlife. As the spirit base for the Shibuya Nights, Asseri adds, Suntory captures the essence of that nightlife.

“Although you’d normally drink Suntory neat or on the rocks because of the high price point,” he says, “there’s a complex beauty to it that makes it easy to work with—the perfect Japanese whiskey for introducing into a cocktail that’s easy to make and not asking for a lot, but highlights the natural taste of the whisky.”

The recipe is simple, Asseri asserts, but also offers the palate a lyrical flood of flavors.

“First comes the spice from the black walnut—and right off the nose even before you take your first sip,” he says. “It’s a welcoming aroma, like being by a fire. The black walnut and cinnamon create a subtle sweet and spicy mixture. Then the Japanese whisky comes in with grapefruit, green grapes, a little thyme and then the vanilla oak.”

Shibuya Nights

Shibuya Nights

2 oz. Suntory Toki Whisky

¼ oz. Cinnamon Syrup*

2-3 dashes Black Walnut Bitters

Put ingredients in mixing glass with ice, stir for 30-40 seconds, strain into rocks glass with ice, and garnish with orange twist.

Bring 1 cup each of sugar and water to boil, add 3 cracked cinnamon sticks, pour into Mason jar and refrigerate overnight.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

How a Childhood Car Crash Created San Diego's Most Tenacious Personal Injury Lawyer

Next Article

Two poems by Marvin Bell

“To Dorothy” and “The Self and the Mulberry”
“The drink is old meets new,” Asseri says.
“The drink is old meets new,” Asseri says.
Faisal Asseri

The Cloak & Petal’s bar manager Faisal Asseri explains that the name for Little Italy’s Japanese-inspired restaurant blends opposites to form a new whole. “Cloak” communicates mystery and intrigue, and “Petal” is a rough English equivalent of hanami, the Japanese word (literally “flower watching”) for welcoming the first cherry blossoms of spring. Thus the name comes together like a Japanese haiku:

Nighttime spreads its cloak

Beneath spring’s breezy petals—

Sponsored
Sponsored

Sun and shadow dance.

And much like a haiku, the Cloak & Petal’s newest Japanese-inspired cocktail Shibuya Nights is also a virtuoso of distilled contradictions.

“The drink is old meets new,” Asseri says, “the Old Fashioned matched with Suntory Toki, the newest Japanese whisky out there.”(The Japanese, inspired by the Scots to take up whisky-making in the first place, drop the “e” from “whisky,” in contrast to Irish and American “whiskey.”)

The cocktail’s name, Asseri says, invokes the Shibuya section of Tokyo, Japan’s answer to Bourbon Street, history-rich and buzzing with a boozy electric nightlife. As the spirit base for the Shibuya Nights, Asseri adds, Suntory captures the essence of that nightlife.

“Although you’d normally drink Suntory neat or on the rocks because of the high price point,” he says, “there’s a complex beauty to it that makes it easy to work with—the perfect Japanese whiskey for introducing into a cocktail that’s easy to make and not asking for a lot, but highlights the natural taste of the whisky.”

The recipe is simple, Asseri asserts, but also offers the palate a lyrical flood of flavors.

“First comes the spice from the black walnut—and right off the nose even before you take your first sip,” he says. “It’s a welcoming aroma, like being by a fire. The black walnut and cinnamon create a subtle sweet and spicy mixture. Then the Japanese whisky comes in with grapefruit, green grapes, a little thyme and then the vanilla oak.”

Shibuya Nights

Shibuya Nights

2 oz. Suntory Toki Whisky

¼ oz. Cinnamon Syrup*

2-3 dashes Black Walnut Bitters

Put ingredients in mixing glass with ice, stir for 30-40 seconds, strain into rocks glass with ice, and garnish with orange twist.

Bring 1 cup each of sugar and water to boil, add 3 cracked cinnamon sticks, pour into Mason jar and refrigerate overnight.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

The vicious cycle of Escondido's abandoned buildings

City staff blames owners for raising rents
Next Article

Filmora 14’s AI Tools Streamline Content Creation for Marketers

Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader