I’m a sucker for a cocktail bar in the back of a no-longer-operating restaurant that still serves (what looked like) good Chinese food. If that bar happens to serve interesting cocktails incorporating seldom-used Asian ingredients, then I’m all in. That’s exactly what Dynasty Room in Seattle’s International District is, and it’s awesome.
The Place
A hot new trend in Seattle is for buildings to be scheduled to be torn down at at TBD date in the future and the cool bar that’s there currently leaves immediately. One of my favorite bars near work left almost 2 years ago and the space is still sitting there exactly as it was when I went on their last day and drank too many beers at lunch because they were killing every keg… It’s not a great trend.
Fortunately, no everyone is so willing to follow the trend and is instead willing to operate a bar that could get leveled tomorrow. Miun Liu is one such person and they are my hero, bringing together a who’s-who of Seattle Asian institution professionals to build a pop-up cocktail bar and get the most of what’s left in this historic building. It’s just what the International District needs to keep folks in the area after pounding some dim sum or hot pot.
The Bar
The bar itself is small, with several two-seat high-tops and a long booth on the other side of the short bar for people to eat their noodles and drink their cocktails (or Rainiers, because Seattle…). Everything has a slightly-kitchsy Asian feel that made me thing there should be a high-stakes card game happening behind the wall. I loved it.
The far wall of the bar was particularly cool, with a traditional mural motif reminiscent of what you’d see in a palace.
The menu was short, which I expected given the general style of these places in Seattle, but everything looked interesting, and most were more than one-ingredient-riffs on classics. Also, the solid wine-by-the-glass pricing needs to be given props. Our table ordered Dynasty Dweller, When Pigs Fly, and Dracarys.
The Drink
I ordered When Pigs Fly. If you thought I was tired of vermouth, you were dead wrong.
It’s not often you find a cocktail where the primary base is sherry (another fortified wine that will almost certainly get the Deep Dive treatment one day), but when you do you should probably order it. If it’s mixed with bianco vermouth and soju, then what are you even waiting for?
You get the sherry notes (some funk, citrus, and booze) right up front in the palate. That comes with sour from the lemon juice and a hint of spice. As you keep drinking, you’ll get more stone fruit and the spice will become more clear. Interestingly, the drink finishes extremely dry, helped along by the tannins in the tea syrup.
Rating
I really liked this drink – it gets a 7/10. It’s interesting, not a direct riff on any classic, uses theme-true ingredients, and is risky to put on a menu since there’s not classic base spirit whatsoever. I think it could be improved by increasing the booze concentration (it’s a bit thin) and bringing out more tea flavor on the finish rather than just getting the tannin.
Recipe
The ratios here would take some real work to perfect, but here’s where I would start if you want to try this at home. If you have some cooking sherry you just opened and some soju lying around (who doesn’t), this is worth playing with.
