Q&A With Portland Mocktail Contest Winner Christopher Francis (+ get the recipe!)
In August, we held a contest in Portland searching for the best mocktails crafted with DRY Sparkling from the bartenders and mixologists that work and live in the City of Roses. We’re thrilled to introduce you to our winner, Christopher Francis, who works at Punch Bowl Social in Portland!
He mixed up a beautiful and refreshing mocktail called Monozukuri using our Fuji Apple DRY Sparkling. Read on for more about him and his recipe!
DRY: Tell us about yourself!
Christopher Francis: I am a 28-year old bartender at Punch Bowl Social in Portland. When I’m not working I’m either being active with friends, playing video games, or reading comics.
Q: Tell us more about your mocktail. What was the inspiration?
A: Monozukuri (mono-zoo-kuree) literally translates to ‘making of things,’ but the true translation has a much deeper meaning. Monozukuri signifies not just the physical act of creating something, but also the passion, the mindset, and the drive to perfection with each product to ensure satisfaction. I, myself am a Yonsei (4th generation from a Japanese immigrant) and Japanese culture and tradition influences everything I do. Today Japanese culture is found throughout the world and especially in the United States, with larger communities in California and the Pacific Northwest. Washington and Oregon have many ties to the Japanese culture and large Japanese communities. Working in a craft beverage environment, I try to have a monozukuri mindset with each beverage I make, to ensure everything is to the highest quality, and I am proud of every product I present. I was interested in creating a mocktail that used some of the flavors found in Japanese cuisine. When I tasted the DRY Fuji apple soda, I thoroughly enjoyed the flavor and knew it would be a great center for a drink. I wanted to create a drink that was sweet, a little spicy, and very refreshing. Japanese flavors are very familiar to me and I knew they were the right palate to add.
Q: Any dish that you’d recommend pairing with it, and why?
A: I think the best dish to pair with this drink is sushi. I wanted my mocktail to be full of flavor but also light and refreshing. That will go very well with the delicate flavors of sushi without taking anything away from it. If you aren’t a fan of sushi, I’d also say a warm bowl of ramen would pair well with the mocktail perfectly.
Q: What is your favorite flavor of DRY, and why?
A: Obviously I’d say my favorite flavor of DRY soda is Fuji Apple. It’s not a flavor you come across very often for a soda and drinking one really does taste like biting into an apple.
Q: What do you see for the future of non-alcoholic craft beverages?
A: Honestly, the only thing I know about the future of non-alcoholic craft beverages is that they are going to keep growing in popularity. There are so many new techniques and new ideas to infuse flavors and the popularity of non-alcoholic craft beverages is increasing. I’m excited to see where it is going to go.
Here’s the recipe! Try it out at home and let us know what you think.
Recipe:
Tools:
Instructions:
Ginger Simple Syrup Recipe
Fuji Apple Slices
Cheers!
He mixed up a beautiful and refreshing mocktail called Monozukuri using our Fuji Apple DRY Sparkling. Read on for more about him and his recipe!
DRY: Tell us about yourself!Christopher Francis: I am a 28-year old bartender at Punch Bowl Social in Portland. When I’m not working I’m either being active with friends, playing video games, or reading comics.
Q: Tell us more about your mocktail. What was the inspiration? A: Monozukuri (mono-zoo-kuree) literally translates to ‘making of things,’ but the true translation has a much deeper meaning. Monozukuri signifies not just the physical act of creating something, but also the passion, the mindset, and the drive to perfection with each product to ensure satisfaction. I, myself am a Yonsei (4th generation from a Japanese immigrant) and Japanese culture and tradition influences everything I do. Today Japanese culture is found throughout the world and especially in the United States, with larger communities in California and the Pacific Northwest. Washington and Oregon have many ties to the Japanese culture and large Japanese communities. Working in a craft beverage environment, I try to have a monozukuri mindset with each beverage I make, to ensure everything is to the highest quality, and I am proud of every product I present. I was interested in creating a mocktail that used some of the flavors found in Japanese cuisine. When I tasted the DRY Fuji apple soda, I thoroughly enjoyed the flavor and knew it would be a great center for a drink. I wanted to create a drink that was sweet, a little spicy, and very refreshing. Japanese flavors are very familiar to me and I knew they were the right palate to add.
Q: Any dish that you’d recommend pairing with it, and why?
A: I think the best dish to pair with this drink is sushi. I wanted my mocktail to be full of flavor but also light and refreshing. That will go very well with the delicate flavors of sushi without taking anything away from it. If you aren’t a fan of sushi, I’d also say a warm bowl of ramen would pair well with the mocktail perfectly.
Q: What is your favorite flavor of DRY, and why?A: Obviously I’d say my favorite flavor of DRY soda is Fuji Apple. It’s not a flavor you come across very often for a soda and drinking one really does taste like biting into an apple.
Q: What do you see for the future of non-alcoholic craft beverages?
A: Honestly, the only thing I know about the future of non-alcoholic craft beverages is that they are going to keep growing in popularity. There are so many new techniques and new ideas to infuse flavors and the popularity of non-alcoholic craft beverages is increasing. I’m excited to see where it is going to go.
Here’s the recipe! Try it out at home and let us know what you think.
Recipe:
Tools:
Instructions:
Ginger Simple Syrup Recipe
Fuji Apple Slices
Cheers!