China is a massive country and the most populous in the world, with a wildly diverse culture.
A key aspect of any culture is its cuisine, and Chinese food is one of the most popular cuisines in the world.
While you may associate Chinese cuisine with Kung Pao chicken and fried rice, you’ll need a beverage to pair with your family-style meal. That’s where a tasty Chinese cocktail comes into play.
Read on to discover some of the best Chinese cocktails.
This Asian-inspired cocktail uses many of the far East’s tastiest ingredients, including fresh pairs and a Japanese spirit called Shochu. This recipe has you blend whole pear slices with lemon juice and Shochu, straining the liquid into a delicate yet concentrated pear-forward flavor palate with a strong alcoholic finish.
This long standing cocktail has been wowing taste buds since the 1930s, blending smokey bourbon with lime juice, simple syrup, and allspice dram. Allspice is a popular additive to most Chinese dishes, and it pairs well with smokey bourbon and sweet simple syrup.
This is a sophisticated cocktail with a beautiful burgundy hue.
This botanical and citrusy Orange Blossom Cocktail is the perfect drink to ring in the Chinese New Year. The Orange Blossom cocktail blends gin with citrus juice, orange bitters, and orange blossom simple syrup for a rich orange flavor with hints of juniper. The piece de resistance is bubbly wine that adds a dry and crisp finish.
A key aromatic in Asian food and drink is ginger, and the Chinese Whisper cocktail has a double dose of it. It has a glorious flavor profile of spicy ginger, sweet lychee liqueur, and Citroen vodka with a much-needed squeeze of tart lime. This Chinese cocktail doesn’t whisper, it sings with rich Asian flavors.
This Chinese spiked tea recipe is fresh and comforting. It spikes freshly brewed, iced green tea with vodka and lime juice. If you like your Green Tea Martini sweet, you can add a dash of honey or honey simple syrup.
If it’s cold outside, you could always spike hot green tea for a hot toddy which is Chinese-inspired.
You’ll definitely find a tranquil and zen oasis in this rich Orange Oasis Chinese cocktail, blending cherry brandy and gin with orange juice. Cherry and orange flavors get a floral kick from the gin, and the bubbly ginger ale topper ties everything together with a spicy and bubbly finish.
This cocktail pairs well with pork dumplings.
This sophisticated cocktail comes from a professional mixologist who sought to honor his Chinese and Taiwanese heritage. If you’re up for a challenge, this Chit-Cha Toddy recipe takes several steps and has you create cocktail cups out of hollowed-out pumpkins!
Chit Cha Toddy is a blend of oolong tea, rye whiskey, and Benedictine liqueur with plenty of rich ginger.
Savory cocktail lovers rejoice, the Sesame Old Fashioned is the epitome of the Asian-born umami flavor. While the Old Fashioned is a classic whiskey cocktail, the Sesame Old Fashioned is a cognac-based cocktail that requires you to infuse a high-end cognac with a miso, tahini, and butter mixture.
Simple syrup and bitters compliment the miso and nutty tahini. You won’t find a more unexpected yet delicious mix than this!
A dainty and elegant cocktail for your next fall dinner party, the Year of the Rabbit cocktail is a fruity gin drink with pear liqueur and rich, velvety pomegranate juice. Ginger and lemongrass syrup gives the perfect aromatic sweetness to complement the floral Sapphire gin.
This simple two-ingredient martini combines Japanese sake and lychee juice in a cocktail shaker for a rich and balanced cocktail that will wow your dinner party guests. Lychee is sweet and tropical, while sake is dry and alcohol-forward. You’ll be surprised at how well the juicy lychee hydrates and softens the sake.
This super alcoholic Chinese NY Margarita swaps lime juice for the Chinese yuzu and adds the strong Chinese spirit Baiju to the classic tequila and orange liqueur duo. The result is a stronger alcoholic taste with a sweeter citrus profile, thanks to the Yuzu.
This margarita would pair well with fried wonton chips or crab rangoon.
This pastel blue cocktail is a luscious blend of blue curacao, lychee liqueur, and white grapefruit juice. It is a simple three-ingredient cocktail that has low alcohol by volume. You thus get concentrated fruity flavors of lychee and orange that get a nice bitter finish from the white grapefruit juice.
Cheers!
Whether you’re celebrating the Chinese New Year or you need an alcoholic pairing for a home-cooked Chinese dinner, my list of Chinese cocktails has a diverse array of flavors and spirits.
Let me know in the comments below which Chinese cocktail you enjoyed the most.
12 Chinese Cocktail Recipes
Ingredients
Instructions
- Pick your favorite recipe
- Gather all the needed ingredients
- Prep a tasty cocktail in less than 5 minutes
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