The Swinging Cat, a New Orleans-style bar located in Sydney’s CBD, has taken inspiration from the technique of cold-pressed juicing and crafted cold-pressed spirits – spirits infused and pressed with dried fruits, seeds and spices.
These spirits are showcased in a new cocktail menu, which features six cocktails: Rue Desire, a dried banana infused dark rum; Toulouse Street, dried apricots and thyme; Magnolia, a dried peach julep; Belle Chasse, a toasted cocoa nib espresso martini; Bourbon St, dried figs and walnuts; and Elysian Fields Ave, a modern twist on a tropical favourite, the Mai Tai.
Cold-pressing is the technique of juicing that ‘presses’ the fruit to retain vitamins, minerals and enzymes. To create the liquid, Pete Fischer, owner of The Swinging Cat, and his team run the infused spirit through the cold-press to create a rich syrup, which is then used as the base for creating cocktails.
“We wanted to offer our guests a completely unique drinking experience, like no other. We took inspiration from the work of Heston Blumenthal who completely thinks outside the box. We use a top of the range stainless steel cold-press to ensure we are producing the best syrups and nectars for our cocktails,” said Fischer.
“One of the cocktails that we have on the cold-pressed menu is the ‘Elysian Fields Ave’, which is our modern twist on the classic Mai Tai. We use tropical dried fruits like pawpaw, papaya, pineapple and mango and soak them in Pampero Anejo dark rum. After soaking the fruits for a few days they are cold-pressed to produce an amazing alcoholic tropical nectar. We then make our own version of an alcoholic almond milk from almonds soaked in Pampero blanco white rum, which are then also cold-pressed. From there we shake these ingredients with lime juice and a dash of fresh orange juice and serve over crushed ice.”