Community Cookbook: Enso Omakase’s Tsuke Mizu Cocktail

Williamsburg’s Enso Omakase (117 Berry St.) opened last week with a 10-seat omakase counter, a lounge area with 22 seats, and a 40-seat fully-heated garden (that will welcome guests in a few months). The new Japanese restaurant and whiskey bar comes from the team behind Ako (205 Bedford Ave.) and Amami (57 Nassau Ave.).

For this week’s addition to the Community Cookbook, Enso Omakase has shared the recipe for their cocktail called Tsuke Mizu, which translates to pickled water.

“This is our take on a fresher, yet complex Bloody Mary-style drink, keeping only the umami components of the classic Bloody Mary to match the flavors used on our omakase and bar lounge menus,” manager Byron Agila told Greenpointers. Agila said that the cocktail is “a drink that is becoming the favorite for lots of guests.”

“All our drinks have a food component or ingredients used on our daily tasting menus. Freddy, our bar manager, wanted to match the experience of the omakase on the drinks side of things,” Agila said, adding that all of Enso Omakase’s liqueurs are homemade. 

Learn how to make Enso Omakase’s Tsuke Mizu cocktail below and find last week’s Community Cookbook recipe here.

Enso Omakase’s Tsuke Mizu

Ingredients

1.5 ounces of Agua Magica mezcal

.75 ounces of fresh lemon juice

.75 ounces of homemade tomato liqueur*

.5 ounces of homemade yuzu-gochujang syrup**

Marinated tomato garnish***

Directions for Tsuke Mizu Cocktail

1. Combine all ingredients in a shaker and shake well.
2. Strain into a stem glass.
3. Garnish with a marinated cherry tomato.

*Directions for Homemade Tomato Liqueur

1. Add one cup of cherry tomatoes and one cup of white granulated sugar to a sous-vide bag.
2. Simmer at 60 degrees Celsius / 140 degrees Fahrenheit for 3 hours. 
3. After tomatoes are cooked and blended, add one cup of warm water and one cup of a neutral spirit like vodka.
4. Blend well, let it cool, and store in the fridge.

**Directions for Homemade Yuzu-Gochujang Syrup

5. In a pot, add 1 cup of water, 1 cup of sugar, 2 tablespoons of gochujang, and .5 ounces of yuzu extract.
6. Simmer until sugar dissolves and set syrup aside.

***Directions for Marinated Tomatoes

7. In a container, add 1 tablespoon of mirin, 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, and 1/2 teaspoon of jalapeno ash salt.
8. Blanch and peel (desired amount of) cherry tomatoes.
9. Add peeled tomatoes to the container with the marinade and let them soak for at least 3 hours.