Flying Dragon
Bartender Matt Watkins’ cocktail brings together local fruit and a locally made spirit—a match made in Decatur at The Deer and The Dove.
illustration by bashel lubarsky
At The Deer and The Dove in Decatur, a locally focused philosophy drives the R&D process for the chefs, pastry chefs, and Head Bartender Matt Watkins. He gets especially excited when the foragers come in. “Any time one of our foragers brings in something new, we always want to buy it and see what we can do,” says Watkins. When trifoliate oranges, also known as Flying Dragon oranges, were brought in the door, Watkins knew that he wanted to find a way to get the bitter, acidic fruit onto his cocktail menu.
Originally cultivated in East Asia, trifoliate oranges made their way over to the southern United States in the 1850s. Now, foragers across the Southeast get excited every autumn for a chance to score some of the floral fruit.
So, Watkins had a freshly foraged pile of citrus: then what? “The orange itself is very bitter, so I decided to make a syrup at first,” he says. “Then, it was too sweet—I felt like it lost the acidity that made it unique.” Watkins landed on adding Champagne vinegar to make a shrub. Now provisioned with his anchor ingredient, it was time to build a cocktail. Looking across his backbar for a liquor that would add to the layers of citrus found in the shrub, Watkins grabbed Horyzon Spirits Harvest Select, an 80-proof American rice koji spirit, distilled down the block from The Deer and The Dove. “We’re very passionate about supporting local farmers and producers, so I’ve tried to carry that ethos with the way I’ve built the backbar,” he says.
How does a spirit distilled from rice grown in Arkansas and fermented with black koji from Okinawa, Japan find its way into a cocktail in Georgia? To Horyzon co-founders and South Carolina natives Brandon Macias and Whit Johnson, distilling the spirit came from a love of Carolina Gold rice. “The United States is the 5th largest rice exporter in the world and the largest rice exporter outside of Asia,” says Macias. As time went on, the two founders became fascinated with Japanese shōchū. They wondered, “Is there a way to create spirits that use the Japanese process, with koji as the star, but use American rice to create a new, American-style shōchū?” After years of research and development, several trips to Japan, and lots of trial and error, Horyzon was ready to introduce their Harvest Select to their local Atlanta market.
photos: will blunt
“Horyzon came to us when they were just getting going. It seemed like a perfect match for our backbar,” says Watkins. Traditionally, Japanese shōchū are bottled between 40 and 60 proof. “One of the reasons that shōchū has had trouble finding its way into the American market is because of its lower proof. We wanted to launch an American-focused brand, while remaining respectful to the authentic Japanese-style production process,” says Macias. “It comes off the still at over 100 proof. We bottle it at 80 proof, and the actual flavor of the rice really comes through. It's not just a standalone spirit for sipping. It can be the star of the show, and allow other ingredients to support it.”
For Watkins, combining the Flying Dragon orange shrub with Harvest Select was a no-brainer. Plus, the spirit has an added benefit: one of the by-products of fermenting rice for spirits with black koji is citric acid, which amplifies the flavors of the shrub. “From there, I decided to add a little Cocchi Americano Rosa,” says Watkins. “It has some good citrus notes that bring out the flavors of the Flying Dragon orange, but also some other spices, and this slightly more floral taste.” Watkins finishes the cocktail with a bit of lime for balance, and Herbsaint to accentuate the floral notes. He then tops it with sparkling wine for a bit of lift. With a strong nose of toasted rice followed by a fruity and floral taste, Watkins’ “Flying Dragon” is both crushable and complex, and holds an extraordinary sense of place; after all, Harvest Select is only made with Georgia spring water.
