Love of leaf

A hand-carved ice ball and bee pollen set this cocktail apart.

Cocktails like the Amortentia he's just finishing, for example, arrive in a smoky haze that could be produced with dry ice if the effect was just for show. But for Zou there is no smoke without fire－in this case flaming twigs of dried rosemary. The flavor of the charred herb is first absorbed by the foam on the drink, then lingers on the palate for the rest of the evening.

His signature cocktails include two that are particularly spicy and herbal: the Amortentia and the Black Truffle Martini. The latter attracted plenty of attention from media and connoisseurs during Botany's soft opening this past winter. Housemade Roma bitters, tropical fruit and a spice mix meld with the truffle and dark rum in an intriguing fungal fugue.

Zou summons smoke for two other popular drinks－h(huán)is smoked negroni and a silky old-fashioned. While smoky presentations make lively moments in the intimate bar, a converted apartment space with a 12th-floor view of the lights of Sanlitun, the center of his attention is an array of elegant, apothecary-style jars on the counter labeled "shiso", "lemongrass", "cardamom" and many more. Each bottle of bitters represents up to six months of hand preparation－processing, cooking, infusing－and reflect his fascination with what can be extracted from plants to make a familiar cocktail something special. From thyme to Yunnan black truffles to the orange peel and cloves that rock the Glen Grant-based Friday Night cocktail, the raw material behind each drink is a bow to the science that inspires the bar's name.