Listed on the menu: Yes, as “5-Spice Old Fashioned”
Ingredients: Deadwood Rye, Chinese five spice, Angostura bitters
The occasion: This was day two of our December Get-Away weekend in Washington. We spent the morning and early afternoon on the National Mall, and had tickets for the evening to see the Capitals play hockey. But what to do about pre-game dinner? The Caps’ arena is in Chinatown, next to Penn Quarter, so restaurant choices are plentiful. I decided on China Chilcano, since their Peruvian/Asian fusion menu sounded so intriguing and since Youngest Son claims that their Chilcano cocktail (with pisco and spicy Peruvian pepper) is one of the best cocktails he has ever had. (Yes, I tried it!) We selected the Chef’s tasting menu and ended up trying eleven delectable dishes.
My rating: **** out of 5. I was curious to try the Deadwood Rye, made in Indiana. And I wondered how the 5-spice (star anise, fennel, szechuan peppercorns, cinnamon, and cloves) would taste when combined with the rye. My palate picked up the cinnamon as the dominant flavor, but not by much. The 5-spice was obviously selected to enhance the sweet, bitter, salty, sour, and umami flavors on the food menu. It worked! Husband ended up happily drinking two of these cocktails with his meal.
Final thoughts: China Chicano is one of several restaurants in DC owned by José Andrés, the philanthropist/chef behind World Central Kitchen. We love his recipes and his generosity.
Monica Lists 