This is a Japanese-inspired highball, featuring shochu and a tea-based cordial. I haven’t found many consistent definitions of what a cordial is, that is broad enough to account for all the ‘cordial’ recipes I’ve seen. The best I’ve found is that a cordial is a type of syrup, where fruit juice replaces the function of water in a syrup. This definition suits most traditional cocktail cordials, like the lime cordial found in a gimlet. In this recipe however, I’ve defined the oolong-based syrup as a cordial, due to its inclusion of acids. In this case, I’m defining a cordial as a syrup whose flavour mimics the natural balance of sweetness and acidity of the fresh fruit, or flavour, it’s replicating. In this case, that’s achieved by adding powdered acids like citric, lactic and malic (some of the natural acids found in citrus fruits) to create a self-balancing ingredient, as opposed to using both acidic citrus juices, and a separate sweetener ingredient. Even though this cordial is not fruit based, and centres around a tea flavour, it still follows the same flavour template, and fulfils the same role as a traditional cordial. *Oolong Tea Cordial - Heat 200g water to 90°C and combine with 10g oolong tea. Steep for 4 minutes, before straining through a fine mesh sieve and coffee filter. Add 200g white sugar and stir until dissolved. Weigh syrup, and add 2% (by weight) of powdered citric acid, 1% of powdered malic acid, and 0.5% powder lactic acid. Stir until dissolved, then store, refrigerated for up to two weeks. #cocktails #cocktail #shochu #japan #mixology #recipes #recipe #original #homemade #bar #bartender #alcohol #spirits #highball