Chivas Regal & Green Tea

Although the Whiskey/Green Tea combination has become quite a common drink in the Far East Asian clubbing scene, visitors from abroad still find it to be quite a novelty. It must have been almost 3 years ago that I was introduced to this mix while clubbing with friends in Indo. As opposed to buying drinks from the bar one at a time, we would all pitch in and invest in bottles. By the end of the night we would actually end up saving quite a bit on the booze and the mixers, not to mention preferential treatment we received from the clubs. Also when you invest in 3 bottles you are pretty much committed to getting pissed and in turn having a blast. I like that. The bottles are served up sealed and the mixers in large jugs, you then have the freedom to mix your own drinks. It works a bit differently here in China. They give you the booze in a sealed bottle, mixers in separate cans or bottles, and an empty jug. You then mix a large quantity of the chosen drink in the jug which can then be dispersed amongst friends. So firstly you put ice in your jug and top it off with your whiskey of choice.

You must carefully regulate the amount of booze you pour into the jug keeping in mind that this is a communal drink and your mates might not like their poison as potent as you do. Be a considerate friend! You can use whatever booze you want and whichever mixer you prefer, and on this particular occasion, as the title of this post suggests, we went with the Chivas and Green Tea. I can understand how fascinating this combination may seem to some people but I assure it is an extremely smooth mix. Firstly it is not as sweet as your run of the mill carbonated mixers and secondly it is not carbonated so you end up feeling a lot lighter.

Once you have found the perfect Zen balance in your pitcher you can go ahead and share the concoction. Dispense generously amongst your friends. As you can see the drinking glasses provided in most clubs, bars, and restaurants here in China are quite small. Each one can hold only about 3 or 4 large sips. This actually makes the use of mixed drinks in a communal pitcher even more beneficial. We also tend to GAMBAI (bottoms up) more often and get drunk even more quickly.

Once all the mates have been watered you can take a good fill of the swill yourself. I like the combination of Chivas and Green Tea. On occasion I will even mix Green Tea with my Jack Daniels rather than coke. It is nice to get a break from the carbonated drinks for a while. Keep in mind that the Green Tea is slightly sweetened. Cheers!