“I had not been to Southeast Asia before arriving in Cambodia. This is an experience of a lifetime. Each time I open my eyes, I see new things everywhere, including the uniqueness of a culture that’s new to me,” says the young man who hails from the US.
Asana Bar mainly serves Khmer traditional and Western-styled cocktails created by bar owner Sophary, who says she uses ingredients such as turmeric, ginger, a paddy herb, kaffir lime leaves and white rice wine.
“Initially I made only non-alcoholic cocktails from ginger, lemongrass and tamarind among others. But because I had no market, I started to blend in some spirits with the cocktails. And over time, I expanded the range to offer more unique ones that have become popular,” he says.
Sophary says her cocktail blends are a mark of her success as they as unique, and nobody else has managed to copy the recipes thus far.
And except for the white wine that is blended into the cocktails, the rest of the ingredients are uniquely Khmer, she stressed.
She says she even teaches guests how to mix three kinds of wine with ingredients such as ginger, tamarind water and Asana Sling for $15. It includes bites such as meats which go with the cocktails. Now guests can try their hand a making their own cocktail masterpieces with Khmer kitchen ingredients.
Hello, my name is Jack Sparrow. I'm a 50 year old self-employed Pirate from the Caribbean.