Screaming Eagle co-owner Joanne Eckmeyer knows her cocktails. From classics like Sidecars and Pisco Sours to originals like her Celebrity Martini with raspberry vodka, cranberry, pineapple and lime topped with Champagne, her menu is one of the most exciting ones on the island. 

And while she asks her husband to juice the fresh ginger for her famous Moscow Mules, she makes the hot pepper-infused syrup and the caramelized cinnamon orange slices for this martini herself.

The drink is an explosion of flavor and aroma, with a spicy Asian twist from the sake and chili pepper. “I was thinking Japanese,” says Joanne, adding that she came up with it to pair with sashimi, tuna or scallop carpaccio. But the sweet heat that comes on just at the end makes this martini tantalizing enough to drink anytime. “It’s the perfect cocktail to start or finish the evening with,” she says.

Asian Pear Spice Martini
Makes 1 cocktail

1 ½ oz. Absolut Pears
½ oz. Licor 43
1 oz. G Joy Junmai Ginjo Genshu sake
Splash of passion fruit juice
Dash of hot pepper-infused syrup
Garnish: caramelized orange slices sprinkled with cinnamon
—

1. Combine the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice.

2. Shake, then strain the contents into a martini glass.

3. Garnish with a slice of caramelized orange.

1 orange, sliced
2 tbsp. cane sugar
¼ tsp. freshly grated or ground cinnamon
—

1. Lay orange slices flat on a heat-proof surface or baking tray.

2. Use a kitchen torch to caramelize the sugar, or broil the oranges in an oven until caramelized.

3. Sprinkle with cinnamon.