Ping Rojanat Chareonsri is the Beverage Director of Find the Locker Room in Bangkok. He makes us two cocktails, one with Vodka infused with Celery &Chilli and Lime Juice and the second with Umeshu and Green Tea Syrup.
Ping introduce yourself
My name is Ping Rojanat Chareonsri and I am from Washington DC where I worked for the US Navy before joining the hospitality industry. I started in a restaurant, but quickly noticed that bartenders got all the female attention, so decided I wanted to do that. So I moved behind the bar and I was not too bad. I moved back to Thailand to open my restaurant and some hotels approached me to run their concept bars, which I did for a year and a half. When I was about to leave, the founders of Find the Locker Room contacted me and I thought I would learn a lot from them, so joined the team.
The classic you want to show us
Bloody Mary
45ml of Vodka infused with Celery & Chilli
90ml of Fresh Tomato Juice
10ml of Lime Juice
5ml of Simple Syrup
2 dashes of Worcestershire Sauce
3 dashes of Tabasco Sauce
8 Cracks of Salt
8 Cracks of Pepper
The bar you dream of
My dream bar would be around twenty seats that I could run alone. I would change the menu daily and it would be here in Bangkok. I would serve homemade dumplings and play 90’s pop.
What do you do in your time off
I watch movies and read books to chill out.
The spirit you like the most
Whisky is it, as I grew up drinking blended scotch whisky. One of my friends introduced me to a single malt Maccalen 12 year sherry cask and it opened a new world to me. In cocktails , whisky gives a lot of dimensions and flavours to a cocktail and adds body.
What makes a good cocktail
Balance makes a good cocktail. Even with weird ingredients, if you can find a balance it will be drinkable.
What ingredient do you enjoy using in cocktails
It would be bitters and especially aromatic bitters… it’s the MSG of cocktails.
The signature cocktail you want to show us
Harakiri
45ml of Vodka
90ml of Fresh Tomato Juice
20ml of Umeshu
20ml of Green Tea Syrup
20ml of Lemon Juice
8 Cracks of Salt
8 Cracks of Pepper
Rim with Plum Powder
Where do you think we need to go to interview another bartender
Here in Bangkok, you should visit Niks Anuman from Asia Today and Teens of Thailand. Abroad, Sam Kwan from Barules in Shanghai and Jeffrey Morganthaler at Clyde Common in Portland.