New York City already boasts a packed roster of bars serving up cocktails directly incorporating Japanese flavors, or at least reflecting Japan’s meticulous, creative cocktail culture: Katana Kitten, Sip & Guzzle, Shinji’s, Bar Goto, Bar Moga and Martiny’s, to name just a few. You can find innovative interpretations of Korean cocktails at Orion Bar, Oiji Mi and Atomix. Chinese cocktails, however, have proven harder to find, barring spots like Brooklyn’s Cantonese hotspot Bonnie’s. New York has over 2,200 Chinese restaurants, so where are the drinks specifically highlighting those flavors and pairing with those dishes?
As of this April, they’re at Async, a new cocktail bar tucked in the back of YongChuan, a Chinese restaurant on the Lower East Side. Droveen Zhang, currently the head bartender at the award-winning Epic Bar in Shanghai, created the drinks menu at Async, translating varying regional flavor profiles into drinks. The goal is to shine a brighter spotlight on China’s cocktail culture for an American audience by giving bar guests a tour of China, which begins from the moment they enter the space. Patrons receive a rolled suede scroll upon arrival; unfurled, the menu doubles as a map of China, featuring nine cocktails—each inspired by and linked to a different region’s flavors.
Zhang jumped at the opportunity to come on as a consultant and create a cocktail menu for a New York bar, seeing it as a chance to expose more Americans to his country’s drink culture, relatively unknown here. After visiting the United States to compete in cocktail competitions over the years, Zhang found himself intrigued by New York cocktail culture, in particular, and wanted to showcase China’s own flavors and techniques in the city.
Each Async cocktail forms some connection to its region’s crops, cuisine or culinary traditions. For example, the Silk Road Negroni represents the Xinjiang region. Composed of red date cognac, dried grape, fig leaf vermouth, Fernet-Branca and walnut bitters, the flavor profile conveys the rich sweetness of Xinjiang’s fruits.
“Xinjiang is located in the northwest of China,” Zhang says. “Its abundant sunshine allows all fruits to have a higher sugar content. Grapes and red dates are among the most famous local specialties.” My initial impression of the Negroni on the nose and then palate is full, sweet and spicy, like raisins and date cake. Within seconds, this transforms into a drier bitterness, cutting the sweetness at the exact right moment.
This is a common theme among Async’s cocktails: A flavor and sensation journey within each drink that represents the bigger journey around China. The Spicy Madame features cherry tomato, chili, sour soup, tequila, lemon juice, simple syrup, Tabasco sauce and bitters, crowned with a shiso leaf. The sweetness of tomato makes itself known first; it’s quickly tempered by a balance of acid and umami before the heat kicks in and makes you want another sip. The recipe nods to the Hunan region and its iconic dish, chopped chili fish head, as well as the distinctive local shiso leaf.
Inspired by the Fujian region along China’s southern coast, the Jasmine Breeze embodies the area’s tea culture. The Fujian city of Fuzhou claims the jasmine blossom as its flower, and locals are fond of winter melon tea. Accordingly, the cocktail calls on jasmine tea, black tea and winter melon syrup alongside gin, lemon juice and sparkling
With banana, pandan syrup and mezcal, the Mystic Rainforest taps into the Yunnan region’s inclusion of tropical fruits in savory dishes. The Hainan region’s yellow lantern chili pepper stars in the Flaming Tropic, providing spice that’s countered by lush mango puree, green kumquat and calamansi juice with rum. Tsingtao beer hails from the Shandong region, which is emphasized with the Tsingtao Orchard cocktail, which incorporates the lager. The Imperial Smoke speaks to Beijing’s famed Beijing Roast Duck with duck fat-washed bourbon, and the Frozen Forest Martini utilizes Asian pear, pine nut, ginseng, and cedarwood with gin, vermouth and root bitters to taste like a sip of the snow-covered forests in Dongbei’s Greater Khingan Range and Changbai mountains.
YongChuan, which debuted in September 2024 at 90 Clinton Street, focuses on the Ningbo cuisine of the Zhejiang province, which is often overlooked outside of China in favor of Cantonese, Sichuan and Hunan fare. Ningbo cooking reflects Zhejiang’s location on China’s eastern coast; it is delicate and seafood-driven, with dishes like braised eel, yellow croaker and dumplings made of glutinous rice. So naturally, YongChuan’s focus on Ningbo is interpreted into a cocktail, too: The Old Ningbo plays on a particular Zhejiang tradition.
“During the cold winter months, people like to stay home, have a smoke, and warm up a pot of huangjiu—Chinese yellow wine—often with a preserved plum dropped in,” Zhang tells Observer. He turns that ritual into a cocktail with huangjiu and plum.
Alongside interpretations of classic cocktails like the sazerac, aviation and margarita, the nine regional cocktails (all between $19 and $22, and all listed on the menu alongside the individual ABV) offer a unique way to experience Chinese flavors, both new and familiar.
The food menu expands on the theme of regional exploration, with a Ningbo-focused edge that aligns with YongChuan’s original concept. There’s a Ningbo seafood white wine pasta, yellow fish croaker rolls and steamed rice cakes drizzled in osmanthus syrup that creates a sweet, floral shell to crack into. Rounding out the selection with more regional cuisines are a Sichuan mapo pasta, peking duck tacos and dishes like salted egg yolk calamari and seaweed popcorn chicken.
The sleek, moody design of the lounge-like bar, concocted by Tom Xia of T-X-L, balances out potentially kitschy elements like the suede map menus. The interior is minimalist but comfortable, with leather banquettes underneath a ceiling covered in LED panels designed to mimic the look of the Northern Lights, shifting colors and patterns in response to movement. The focus is on the food, drinks and the ensuing flavor journey.
Zhang’s ability to translate China’s regional flavors and cultures into intriguing yet accessible, easy-drinking cocktails make for a notable entry point for Chinese cocktail culture in New York. Async’s menu will satisfy sweet, savory or spicy cocktail enthusiasts, and at the same time, provides a refreshing way of interacting with diverse Chinese cuisines.