Royal 75 Recipe

The royal 75 is a delicate, floral sparkling cocktail from huami, a chinese fine-dining restaurant in auckland, new zealand. Lychee liqueur can be a difficult ingredient to balance in cocktails: too much risks an acrid, artificial taste; too little and the mild flavor of lychee is muted by stronger flavors. Huami achieves that perfect harmony by pairing the lychee liqueur with crisp, dry gin (they use beefeater), and an acidic-but-fruity champagne (perrier-jout). Their royal 75 is garnished with dehydrated orange peel, so as to keep from overpowering the drink with the powerful flavor of orange oil. If you use a fresh peel, simply wipe it around the edge of the glass and discard, rather than squeezing it over the drink or using as a garnish.