The Omakase Room's "Welcome Cocktail" is a masterclass in mocktail magic

I’ve never much gone for the sexed-up verbiage we impose upon non-alcoholic drinks. I may be alone here, but I made peace with “mocktail” long ago. The word is simple, punny, self-explanatory, and even historically significant. According to Merriam-Webster, mocktail was first used in 1916, so it — unsurprisingly — just slightly predates Prohibition. 

Perhaps some find it humiliating to pull up at some chi-chi bar and ask about the mocktail offerings. But I feel just as stupid asking to see the “N/A” or “zero-proof” list or, trendier yet, those “spirit-frees.” Whether teetotaling, temperance or virgin, they’re just drinks, after all — though I suppose their intricacy beyond fresh-squeezed juice demands we label them something nobler. 

In any case, the most delicious boozeless cocktail I’ve tasted in recent memory didn’t even bother announcing itself as spirit-free: The Welcome Cocktail at the Omakase Room at Sushi-San in Chicago’s River North neighborhood is exactly that, a miniature concoction intended to refresh and prime the appetite, which happens to be free of the demon drink. A server handed me this cocktail — a chilled mixture of oolong tea, coconut water and pandan syrup in a pretty ridged glass — after I sank into a lounge chair to await the start of an exemplary 18-course sushi dinner. 

The three-sipper was delicate, balanced and gently aromatic; the shortbread butteriness of the tea lent a toasty backbone to the juicy, tropical notes of the coconut and mildly bitter, nutty-sweet pandan. As I drank, I became aware that I was perched on the edge of my seat, fully at attention as I attempted to unriddle its intriguing, distantly familiar contents. When the server returned to retrieve the glass, I got territorial over the last few drops, saying I still “needed a minute.” 

What I like least about the notion of a mocktail is that it implies abstinence, or some lesser experience. All I know is, I thought about that mini cocktail long after it was gone. I pictured pouring myself a nip of it then settling into a squashy chair to read a book on a Saturday afternoon, or preparing a tray of them to hand to guests upon arrival at my next dinner party. Would I serve it alongside spiced mixed nuts or salty quicos? No. I’d offer it up solo, just as the Omakase Room did: a sipper worth contemplating in all its nuanced beauty — up there with some of the loveliest cocktails I’ve tasted. 

A note on pandan

The Welcome Cocktail incorporates simmered fresh pandan leaves. Affectionately referred to as “the fragrant plant” in Chinese for their singular, sweet aroma, pandan leaves are palm-like in appearance — bright-green, long and spiky. When cooked, the leaves lend a grassy sweetness that bears notes of almond, cooked rice, rose, vanilla, and a whisper of coconut. Pandan is often incorporated into Southeast Asian savory cooking, desserts and drinks, not just for its sweetness but its striking green hue. It’s sold in fresh, frozen, paste, extract and powdered forms. This cocktail works best with gentler-tasting fresh or frozen pandan leaves, which can be found in Asian and international grocery stores and many Whole Foods Market locations. 

Courtesy of Kevin Beary, beverage director at Lettuce Entertain You