That's the spirit!

Bangkok is used to wine dinners and whisky pairings by some of the world’s best-known brands and now Mekhong is proving that the pungent and potent national spirit can also be transformed into beautiful cocktails and paired with fine cuisine.
    Thailand's first domestically produced branded spirit was launched in 1941, and has since become one of the most popular choices among drinkers in Thailand. Despite being known as a whisky, Mekhong is in fact much closer to rum and is made mainly from sugar cane with a dash of rice. This distilled spirit is then blended using a secret recipe of indigenous herbs and spices to produce its distinctive agave-like aroma and slightly spiced taste.
Spirit snobs who have always held that Mekhong is a drink for truck drivers and labourers have been proved wrong thanks to the brand’s “Mekhong Elite Table” project, which incorporates the gold elixir with fine cuisine.
    The second extravagant bash in the campaign was held recently at Izakaya, Ku De Ta Bangkok’s Japanese restaurant. The four-course dinner by chef Jonathan Maza was paired with signature Mekhong cocktails created exclusively for the night by mixologist Knut Randhem.
The first course – a tantalising spicy tuna roll with kaiware sprouts and bird eye chilli – was matched with Thai Sabai. The simple mixture of Mekhong, limejuice, sugar and basil leaves was deliciously refreshing and wonderful with the tasty rolls. Next up was a platter of fried chicken, grilled Scottish salmon and mustard-glazed pork belly. This complex and flavourful dish was washed down with Mekhong Ku Sora, an airy and subtle concoction of Mekhong, honey syrup, shiso-flavoured syrup and bergamot bitters.
The star of the night was a hearty “bento style” main course, packed with eclectic flavours and textures from Japanese potato salad, miso-glazed black cod, grilled spare ribs and white miso soup. The slightly sweet and heavily seasoned platter was balanced with Mekhong Ploe Play, a cocktail inspired by the colour of the early evening sky, hence the name which means twilight.
This well-rounded, tropically fragrant drink was made from Mekhong, sherry brandy, bitter, pineapple and lime. Mekhong’s signature rigid and potent aftertaste was very much prominent in the mix, and it helped cut the greasiness and the sweetness of the food.
The dessert – Mekhong Cappuccino – created by pastry chef Jason Licker was a sinfully rich coffee and milk ice cream placed on top of Mekhong-soaked biscuit crumble and required digging deep with the spoon to scoop up all the layers.
For anyone who avoids Mekhong because of its signature smell, this is probably the most pleasant way to enjoy the spirit with food. The spiciness of the spirit went well with the bitter coffee and the salty and sweet biscuit, while the milk ice cream softened the sharpness of the Mekhong.
Mekhong, like many pungent spirits and even whiskies, sports very distinctive characters which, when used as base spirit in cocktails, should not be altered or camouflaged but enhanced.
The bar at Ku De Ta did a wonderful job at “honouring” the spirit by bringing out Mekhong’s best characteristics with a selection of simple and well-thought-out ingredients.

Mix and match
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