Anyone else struggling with this weather just a teensy tiny bit? Winter in NYC just seems to drag post holidays, and I can personally attest to needing a bit of a pep talk in order to leave the apartment, cause that cold that seeps into your bones is just no fun.
When I heard about Haru’s new staycation in a glass cocktails, my interest was piqued. I gave myself a bit of cheerleading “come on Jess, just a few more layers, 19 degrees is really not all that awful, think of the Canadians! they do this every day!”, bundled up, and headed to their Times Square location to test them out.
Cue the sunshine!
Haru’s limited-time cocktails, channeling warm weather and beaches all around, surely do a wonderful job of warming you up from the inside out.
The Cucumber Gimlet is Haru’s twist on the traditional cocktail, and really speaks to New Year’s purity and lightness with a combination of muddled fresh cucumber, lime and cilantro shaken with homemade simple syrup and the 34-times-distilled Purity vodka.
I’m a gal who enjoys her drinks on the sweeter side, so the Passion Fruit & Lychee Saketini, made with Don Q Pasión rum with nigori sake, lychee purée, homemade simple syrup and pineapple juice, was pure summer in a glass.
Both cocktails are perfectly paired with Haru’s seasonal menu offerings including Chicken Dumplings, Crispy Halibut with Fresh Winter Mix and the Black Forest Roll. The Chicken Dumplings appetizer are pan-fried and accompanied by Haru’s signature dumpling sauce. The Crispy Halibut with Fresh Winter Mix is a Japanese take on fish and chips—minus the chips for a more New Year’s resolution-friendly entrée. Instead, you’ll find a winter salad of snow peas, carrots and jicama lightly tossed with lemon dressing. On the sushi side, the elegant Black Forest Roll includes smoked salmon, black tobiko (caviar), cucumber, freshwater eel and torched cream cheese.
And for you vegetarians, I’d absolutely recommend the green peppers with lime and sea salt as an accompaniment to your bevvys.
All seasonal items are available through the month of March, which is pretty perfect considering it isn’t until April in these parts that we can finally think of shedding our down and wool coats for trenches. Until then, you’ll find me at Haru’s bar, saketini in hand.
p.s. for those of you not in the NYC area, (or you New Yorkers who can’t seem to pep yourself up to leave the house, no judgement!), we were able to score Haru’s top secret recipe for the saketini I love so much! Bottoms up, my friends!
Passion Fruit & Lychee Saketini
Ingredients:
1.5 oz. Don Q Pasión Rum
.5 ea. Nigori Sake
1 oz. Lychee Puree
½ oz. Simple syrup
½ oz. Pineapple Juice
Method:
*Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass.
*Add ice and shake vigorously for 8-10 seconds.
*Strain into a chilled martini glass.
*Garnish with Lychee fruit.
Jessica Tiare Bowen lives in the juicy Big Apple with her adorable pink-nosed chihuahua, Gillman. He’s the inspiration for her first published children’s book, “Park Avenue Pound Puppy.” The book is the combined result of her two greatest passions: pooches and penning stories.
Her passions include art, urban hikes through Manhattan, drinking coffee with 3 creams and 6 sugars, making extremely detailed itineraries and traveling to far away places, singing along to Broadway shows, Netflix movie nights, discovering incredible treasures at Goodwill and thrift stores, and listening to stories from little people under 7 and big people over 70.
She started her career as New York City Teaching Fellow, teaching elementary school and theater arts at a special education school in the South Bronx for 6 years. She is now a Special Education School Improvement Specialist working in public schools throughout New York City. She is the Editor-In-Chief of the online New York City travel magazine, Used York City. The magazine focuses on finding the best of New York…as used by New Yorkers. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and an ASPCA Ambassador.
