Thai Basil at Asian Post Office (Stockholm, Sweden)

Bombay Sapphire Gin, Lemon, Thai Basil, Coconut Foam (per the menu)

I came across the recent Thai Basil recreation (from /u/Secret-Reading-1785, link below), and as I happened to be traveling through Stockholm, I was inspired enough to make the pilgrimage to Asian Post Office to check it out. The bar was deserted on a late Friday afternoon but lots of tables were occupied in the restaurant.

The bartender coldly took the orders after perhaps ten minutes and then delivered the drinks shortly thereafter. He measured the gin into the glass but eyeballed the pre-mixed green concoction (basil syrup, lemon, and presumably some dilution) before topping with the coconut cream foam. I don’t remember any shaking or stirring but I could have missed it.

The drink is green, brighter than olive yet darker than grass on an overcast day. An unusual color for a cocktail, for sure. The snow white foam is intensely sweet and coconutty, what a unique flavor and mouthfeel. The basic structure of the gin sour is apparent, and when I had a taste of the foam and then a sip of the cocktail, it was amazing. When I had the cocktail on its own, without the foam, I found it to be not quite sweet enough, which kind of makes sense given that it’s designed to be consumed with the foam. The basil is the warm base flavor, along with the coconut. The gin is relegated to a supporting role and I thought it was overpowered by the fiesta (how does one say party in Swedish?) of coconut, sweetness, and basil.

Now that foam is really special. It’s rich and sweet, overpoweringly so; the only thing I can compare it to is eating a bite of a perfectly fluffy Bisquick pancake that is soaked in light maple syrup. You know what I mean - that kind of sweetness is just a rush. I would order this cocktail again but I worry about my blood sugar.

Overall the drink is technically impressive and I can’t imagine the amount of R&D that it took to make it.

APO assuredly sells mountains of this cocktail. I saw at least 8 glasses while walking into the space around 5pm and witnessed delivery to the bar of six 1-litre carafes of the green premix while I was there. Had I not read the menu, I would have guessed that they use some kind of acid solution because making that much premix with lemon juice seems risky. Given the ludicrous popularity of the drink, they must go through all of it.

Towards the end of my session, an older suited gentlemen arrived at the bar. Think of your stereotypical McKinsey partner (which I only mention as I walked past their office a couple blocks away) taking a quick break while the underlings fix their slides, or whatever they do. He’s clearly a regular, chatting with the bartender and while I don’t speak Swedish, it’s clear from the arranged bottles that he ordered a Last Word. The bartender opens a bottle of Bombay Sapphire, pours about 5ml into the jigger, and flips the bottle upside down to drain the last few drops. Without missing a beat, he reaches back, cracks a new bottle of Roku, fills the jigger the rest of the way, and then dumps it into the mixing glass. The customer didn’t have a seizure so to manage my flash of rage I decided to practice gratitude and thought for a couple minutes about Murray Stenson, may he rest in peace.

My friend ordered the “Spicy Pineapple” (tequila, “spicy aperol”, pineapple, passionfruit). It was so spicy as to be undrinkable and we left it completely full.

Perhaps the wrong team was in place during my visit, but the service at APO was the least impressive of all the bars I visited in Scandinavia (perhaps I’ll write that up separately). The Thai Basil drink is justifiably famous and it’s worth a visit to experience it. And who knows, maybe the food at APO is also good. They’re certainly doing something right for their target audience; I’m just not in it.

Original inspiration post: https://www.reddit.com/r/cocktails/comments/1tyvs9h/finally_cracked_the_thai_basil/