TASTE: Phở EQ, The Larkin Hi-Fi
Aaron Wilson at Larkin Hi Fi on Lark Street, Albany
Inspired by phở seasoning spices, Aaron Wilson has a phở cocktail on the list at The Larkin Hi-Fi Record Bar in Albany’s Center Square.
Interview: Susie Davidson Powell
Photos: Konrad Odhiambo/The Dishing
Bartender: Aaron Wilson, co-owner, creative lead on cocktails
The Larkin Hi-Fi: thelarkinhifi.com IG: @thelarkinhifi IG: @aaronrobertwilson
Aaron Wilson guest stars behind the stick as needed, but he’s the creative mind behind the Larkin Hi-Fi’s eclectic, seasonal, and Asian-influenced cocktails. Read more in our Guest Shift interview.
The cocktail: The “Phở EQ” with phō-spice infused tequila.
The pour: Phở spice-infused tequila shaken with lime, ginger simple syrup, chile pepper and soy sauce is sure to catch anyone’s eye. Garnished with cilantro, sliced jalapenos and sides of sweet hoisin and spicy sriracha sauce, the question is how best to integrate the condiments into the drink. Ask a bartender and they’ll direct you to the sugarcane straw, instructing you to “sip the drink, dip the straw in a sauce, taste it and sip the drink again.” The dip-and-sip method changes the profile with hoisin’s salty-sweetness layering savory, umami notes and tangy sriracha giving little scratches of heat. Who says you can’t play with your food – or drink?
The inspiration: “I guess I was inspired after seeing someone infusing spirits with the spices you’d need to make phở - star anise, cinnamon, clove, cardamom and coriander seed… and then I wanted to almost make something like a margarita. I was bouncing ideas back and forth with Nick and decided to use a sous vide to infuse the spices in the tequila….
For the build, I added lime juice, a ginger simple syrup we make here, and a little soy sauce to add a savory note. It’s one of our most popular drinks so I need to make it in quantity to batch as one of our keg cocktails… Nick tried it and was like, “Could we serve it with hoisin and Sriracha?” And I was like, “Why not? We can use those little condiment cups.” So we did.” “
Nick and I went to the city for inspiration. We went to Katana Kitten and In Between Bar in Chelsea Market, and Eavesdrop, a record bar in Brooklyn… I wanted to do small plates, sides, but it’s hard since we don’t have a real kitchen. We might add a few new things like a tiger salad and a cold cabbage dish. Nick wants me to add sesame cold noodles… I’ll have to figure it out.”
INTEL: Pair it with a $3 soy-marinated jammy soft boiled egg topped with spicy chile crisp from The Larkin Hi-Fi’s rotating snack menu. Let the chile heat build and cool it off with a sip.