Joshua Coates Shares His Cocktail Recipe for What A Lovely Thing

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Bartender Joshua Coates is a collector of experiences. His life has taken him all over the globe, from a glacier in Alaska to South Korea to Denver, and back to the Lehigh Valley. Those experiences fuel his specialty cocktails “as memories influence flavors.” Two years ago, he started his Instagram feed @a_few_drinks_behind filled with his adventures in bartending along with the recipes he was dreaming up and creating at home. He is influenced by local honey and fresh seasonal produce. The drink recipe he is sharing is infused with bright citrus and hints of rose—basically a sweet nod to spring, appropriately named “What a Lovely Thing” (an Arthur Conan Doyle quote about a rose).

Coates got his start in the hospitality industry as a server at Texas Roadhouse. He quickly learned that achieving success was about teamwork, people and a strong work ethic. He was a fast learner and, as he moved up the ladder, he found that he was deeply passionate about people and their stories—basically the perfect fit for a bartender. He found that he loved the instant gratification of seeing a guest enjoy their drink and he appreciated the people and their stories.

Nowadays, Coates is the beverage manager for the up-and-coming Notch Modern Kitchen & Bar, a White Orchids’ sister restaurant scheduled to open this month. Creating and curating the bar and the drink menu fills his days. When he isn’t writing recipes and imagining new cocktails, you can find him with a mug of tea playing with his two-year-old daughter, Belle. When asked what his favorite drink is, his answer is simple: “something new,” as he is always up for an adventure.

Ingredients

  • 1 oz mugi shochu
  • 0.5 oz rose-infused Choya yuzu liqueur
  • 0.5 oz Barrow’s Intense ginger liqueur
  • 0.5 oz vanilla syrup
  • 0.75 oz lemon juice
  • 1 egg white

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker and reverse dry shake. Double strain into a pretty up-style glass or whatever you have. Garnish with a single dried rose.

How to:

Reverse Dry Shake

Reverse dry shake simply means to shake vigorously with ice and then without ice. This process does all the work of emulsifying the egg white with the sugars and acids. Shake for 10 seconds each time.

Infuse the yuzu liqueur

Add a few generous pinches of dried organic rose petals, which can be purchased on Amazon, for every eight to 10 ounces of liqueur. Add more petals to deepen the rose element, if preferred.

Vanilla Syrup

One can purchase the vanilla syrup or easily make it with equal parts water and sugar, simple syrup and just enough pure vanilla extract to give it color.

Notch Modern Kitchen & Bar | 5036 Hamilton Blvd., Allentown | notchmknb.com