在探索新的苦味原料时，我找到了一本很有趣的中药书——Karen Page写的《味觉圣经》。翻阅之间，我发现了五味子。虽然五味子常被作中药服用，以平衡体质，但它并不为很多人所熟悉。所以，向本地人介绍他们都不知道的中国本土事物，说起来还挺好玩的。五味子兼有甜、酸、辣、苦、咸五味，这些味道会因品尝者的心情和身体状态的不同而改变。如果你先尝了一颗，三分钟之后又尝了一颗，你可能会惊讶于它们截然不同的味道。当我把五味子分给不同朋友尝的时候，有的说：“哦，真酸！”而有的却觉得它又甜又咸。所以用它调酒颇为复杂，我不得不做些尝试，实际上，调这款酒我试了三次，因为五味子的风味丰富，很难得到完全平衡。一开始我将五味子捣碎，但酸气太浓了，这可不行。接着我把五味子浸泡在黑麦威士忌里，但或许是黑麦威士忌有点太烈了，所以只有辣味能透出来，果味只有一丁点。这更不行了，于是我不得不再想办法。后来我决定制作糖浆，这招挺管用的：所有的气息都能被释放出来，五种味道都全了。贝娇丝苦精让五味子的味道更浓了一点，因为它有不明显的大茴香味。大茴香味将各种味道很好的融合成一体，与甜、酸、甚至咸味皆相宜。而蔓越莓的加入也进一步调出了五味子的味道：一点点酸，一点点药草味。

I was actually looking for some new bitter elements when I found a very interesting book on Chinese medicine – The Flavor Bible by Karen Page – and came across the Five Element berry, or wuweizi. It has long been used in Chinese medicine to balance the body, but not so many people know about it. So it was funny to even show local people something new from China. The berry is sweet, sour, spicy, bitter and salty at the same time; the taste and feeling varies depending on your mood and the condition of your body. If you try it once and then again three minutes later, don’t be surprised if it has a totally different taste. I gave it to my friend. He said, “Wow, it’s very sour”, while another friend just recognised sweet and salty flavours. It’s quite complex; I had to play around a little bit, and actually made this drink three times, as it is really hard to find the right balance for all the flavours of the berry. First I just muddled them and got very strong acidic notes. So that was not the best choice. Afterwards I infused it into rye whiskey. But somehow the rye was a little bit too strong and just the spiciness came through – with only a little bit of fruitiness. That was definitely wrong, so I looked for a new method. I then decided to make a syrup, which worked really well: all the aromas come through better and it expresses all five elements of the wuweizi at once. Peychaud’s bitters then pump up the flavour of the berry a little bit, with its hidden anise note. The anise brings it all together and goes well with the sweet, sour and even salty notes. Then, the cranberry enhances the wuweizi flavour even more: a little bit sour and a little bit herbal.

我来中国就是要了解她的传统和文化，我想用一些不那么常见的原料创造出有趣的酒饮。比如，我会阅读食谱，以期发现一些新的香氛和香气。这个国度里有各种不同的药草、香料和茶，给调酒师提供了许多灵感。实际上， 这里有几乎无限的原料供我们发挥。

I came to China to learn about its traditions and culture, and I try to use ingredients that are not so common, to come up with something interesting. I read cookbooks, for example, to find new aromas and fragrances. There are a lot of opportunities in this country with different herbs, spices and different kinds of teas. In fact, there’s almost an unlimited choice of ingredients.

生命五味 / Elements of Life

• 50ml 黑麦威士忌 / Rye
• 30ml 五味子糖浆* / Wuweizi syrup*
• 25ml 蔓越莓汁 / Cranberry juice
• 20ml 柠檬汁 / Lemon juice
• 4滴 贝娇丝苦精 / 4ds Peychaud’s bitters
• 1个 蛋清 / 1 Egg white

*五味子糖浆：将1.5大调羹的完整五味子放入以1：1比例混合的糖水中。（注意不要捣碎或挤压五味子，以免酒变得过酸或过辣。）用摄氏70度的火沸煮20分钟，期间不断搅拌。

* Wuweizi syrup: Add 1.5 tablespoons of whole wuweizi berries to a 1:1 mixture of sugar and water. (Don’t muddle or crush the berries, otherwise the mixture becomes too sour and spicy). Boil at 70 degrees C for 20 minutes while stirring continuously.

将除了蛋清之外的所有原料倒入摇酒壶，尝味，看看是否要作调整，再加入蛋清。加冰摇15-20秒。滤入另一个调酒听，以去除冰块，然后加入过滤器弹簧摇酒，干摇10秒。以冰冻过的平底玻璃杯或高脚杯盛放，不加冰，以橙皮和3枚五味子装饰。

Combine all ingredients in a shaker except the egg; taste, adjust if necessary, then add egg white. Shake with ice for 15-20 seconds; discard ice by straining between shaker tins; then add strainer spring to shaker and dry shake for another ten seconds. Serve in a frozen tumbler or goblet, without ice, and garnish with orange peel and three wuweizi berries.