Pandan Negroni and Other Southeast Asian-Inspired Vegan Cocktails

When classic cocktails meet Southeast Asian flair: solve weeknight cocktail boredom with bright, plant-forward flavors

If you love bold, balanced drinks but struggle to find vegan-friendly, reliably delicious recipes that actually work at home or behind a busy bar, you’re not alone. In 2026 the best bars and home bartenders are blending regional ingredients—pandan, tamarind, yuzu and rice-based spirits—with modern vegan techniques to make drinks that are both adventurous and accessible. Using Bun House Disco’s pandan negroni as our jumping-off point, this guide gives you tested recipes, practical bar techniques, sourcing tips and vegan garnish ideas so you can recreate Southeast Asian-inspired cocktails that shine.

The evolution of Southeast Asian cocktails in 2026

Through late 2024–2025 we saw a surge in craft distillers in Asia and the West releasing rice-based gins and other rice spirits, while bartenders leaned into indigenous aromatics—pandan, kaffir lime, galangal—and souring agents like tamarind. By 2026 this has matured into a mainstream trend: cocktail menus now feature region-specific twists that honor traditional flavors while using modern, sustainability-focused production. Expect more brands to list vegan certifications and to publish clear ingredient sourcing as consumers demand transparency. If you’re planning a pop-up menu or a small venue program, our linked guides on pop-up edge POS and micro‑event hosting are good operational primers.

“Pandan and rice spirits are no longer niche—they’re part of the modern bartending lexicon.”

Why Bun House Disco’s pandan negroni matters (and what to borrow from it)

Bun House Disco’s pandan negroni reshapes a classic by infusing rice gin with pandan, pairing it with white vermouth and a herbal liqueur—an approach that teaches three transferable lessons:

• Infusions are flavor multipliers. Fresh pandan leaf or pandan syrup converts the gin into something unmistakably Southeast Asian.
• Balance with bitter and herbal elements. The negroni format (gin + vermouth + bitter/herbal) adapts easily to tamarind, kaffir, yuzu or coconut accents.
• Simple technique, big payoff. A blender or cold infusion plus fine straining delivers vivid color and aroma without complicated chemistry.

Essential pantry & tools for Southeast Asian-inspired vegan cocktails

Build a small, reliable kit and you can produce impressive drinks on demand. Keep it vegan by focusing on plant-based finishes and avoiding animal-derived varnishes or cleaning agents.

Ingredients to stock

• Fresh pandan leaves (or pandan extract/syrup) — fragrant and floral.
• Tamarind paste — concentrated tartness for sours and offsets.
• Yuzu juice or yuzu concentrate — bright citrus with floral top notes.
• Rice gin or rice-based spirit — look for craft labels that highlight rice/malted rice distillation.
• White vermouth & herbal liqueurs — verify vegan status (see below).
• Aquafaba — chickpea liquid for protein foams instead of egg white.
• Agar-agar and bentonite — vegan clarifiers if you experiment with clarifying techniques.

Vegan-friendly bar tools & finishes

• Stainless steel shakers, strainers, bar spoons — inherently vegan and durable.
• Wood muddlers finished with food-grade oil or polyurethane—avoid shellac/shellac-based lacquers (shellac is insect-derived).
• Muslin cloths and coffee filters — plant-based, perfect for fine straining of pandan and tamarind solids.
• Synthetic-bristle brushes for zesting and garnishing — cruelty-free and easier to clean than natural hair.
• Silicone molds and dehydrators for garnishes — great for tamarind candies or dried yuzu wheels.

Vegan verification — what to watch for

Many aromatized wines and liqueurs use fining agents or sweeteners that may be animal-derived. Check labels and producers’ websites for statements about fining agents (isinglass, gelatin, casein, egg albumen). Producers increasingly publish vegan status, especially after demand rose through 2024–2025. For broader context on sustainability labels and producer transparency, see our overview of sustainability trends—the same buyer pressure is pushing spirits and liqueurs to disclose fining agents.

Recipes: pandan negroni and six other Southeast Asian-inspired vegan cocktails

Below are recipes you can reproduce at home or scale up for a small party. All are vegan-friendly, use readily available tools, and include alternates for non-alcoholic versions.

Pandan Negroni (inspired by Bun House Disco)

Bright pandan aroma, herbaceous backbone — a negroni with an Asian accent.

1. 10g fresh pandan leaf (green part only), roughly chopped
2. 175ml rice gin
3. Rough-blend pandan and gin in a small blender (5–10 seconds) or place chopped pandan in a jar with gin and cold-infuse 2–4 hours. Don’t overblend — you want aroma, not vegetal grit.
4. Strain through a fine sieve lined with muslin into a clean bottle; refrigerate up to 2 weeks.

1. 25ml pandan-infused rice gin
2. 15ml white vermouth (vegan-certified if needed)
3. 15ml green herbal liqueur (replace with fresh herb tincture if you can’t verify vegan status)
4. Stir with ice 20–30 seconds, strain into a rocks glass over one large ice cube.
5. Express a strip of lemon peel over the drink and place a small pandan leaf as garnish.

Vegan swap: if your preferred herbal liqueur isn’t certified vegan, make a quick herbal tincture (steep equal parts chopped rosemary, basil, and coriander seed in neutral spirit for 24–48 hours) and add 10–15ml.

Tamarind Sour (Southeast Asian Old-Fashioned cousin)

• 60ml dark rum or rice spirit
• 25ml tamarind syrup* (recipe below)
• 20ml fresh lime juice
• 1 dash bitters (check vegan status)
• Aquafaba 15ml (optional foam)

1. Dry shake all ingredients 15 seconds (if using aquafaba), then add ice and shake 20 seconds.
2. Double strain into a chilled coupe. Garnish with a dehydrated lime wheel or tamarind thread.

*Tamarind syrup: simmer 100g tamarind paste with 150ml water and 150g sugar until dissolved; cool and strain. Keeps refrigerated 2–3 weeks.

Yuzu Martini (clean, citrus-forward)

• 60ml rice gin or neutral grain spirit
• 15–20ml yuzu juice (adjust to taste)
• 5–10ml simple syrup (or rice syrup for a savory edge)

1. Stir with ice until well chilled, strain into a chilled martini glass.
2. Garnish with a thin yuzu peel or torch a grapefruit zest for a smoky oil wash.

Non-alc: use yuzu shrub with a rice-based nonalcoholic spirit popularized in 2025.

Kaffir Lime Collins

• 50ml gin (rice gin amps the regional profile)
• 25ml fresh lime juice
• 15–20ml pandan or lemongrass syrup
• Soda water to top

1. Shake gin, lime, and syrup with ice; strain into a tall glass with ice and top with soda.
2. Garnish with a bruised kaffir lime leaf slapped between your palms to release oils.

Coconut Lemongrass Smash (tropical, low-proof)

• 40ml aged rum or rice spirit
• 20ml lemongrass syrup
• 15ml coconut cream (use diluted for a lighter texture)
• Fresh mint and crushed ice

1. Muddle mint lightly with lemongrass syrup, add spirits and coconut, shake, and serve over crushed ice.
2. Top with a sprig of mint and toasted coconut flakes.

Tamarind Old-Fashioned (smoky & savory)

• 50ml aged rice spirit or whiskey
• 10–15ml tamarind syrup
• 2 dashes Angostura-style bitters (verify vegan)

1. Stir with large ice cube and strain into a rocks glass.
2. Garnish with a charred orange peel and a tamarind sugar rim (mix tamarind powder with demerara).

Pandan & Rice Tonic (easy, brilliant green highball)

• 50–60ml pandan-infused rice gin
• 150–180ml premium tonic (jasmine or floral tonic if available)
• Ice and pandan leaf garnish

1. Build in a highball over ice; long stir once and garnish with a pandan leaf or lime wheel.

Non-alc version: pandan tea concentrate + botanical tonic.

Advanced bar techniques (vegan-friendly) for depth and clarity

Make your cocktails sing by using modern vegan techniques that were refined across 2024–2025 bar labs. These are approachable and scalable.

Aquafaba foams

Replace egg whites in sours and flips with aquafaba (the thick liquid from cooked chickpeas). Use 15–25ml per drink, dry-shake 15–20 seconds, then shake with ice. It produces stable, silky foam with less odor than early aquafaba trials.

Vegan clarification

Want a crystal-clear pandan or tamarind punch without dairy-based milk clarification? Try:

• Agar-agar gel and filter — heat agar, mix into the liquid, let set, blend and filter for a different texture (requires practice).
• Bentonite clay — draws solids out; used sparingly and followed by fine filtration.
• Enzymatic pectic clarifiers — safe and vegan if sourced from microbial enzymes.

Expressing zest & aroma

For intense citrus oil, hold a peel over the drink, skin side down, and give a quick snap toward the surface. Torch the peel briefly for a smoky top note—especially effective over yuzu and kaffir lime cocktails.

Garnish, presentation and vegan-friendly finishing touches

Garnishes are the final sensory cue—make them count while keeping them vegan and sustainable.

Best vegan garnishes

• Fresh pandan leaves and kaffir lime leaves — aromatic and photogenic.
• Dehydrated citrus wheels (yuzu, lime, grapefruit).
• Toasted coconut flakes and toasted rice tuile for crunch.
• Tamarind threads or candy made with agar instead of gelatin.
• Edible flowers — ensure they’re edible and pesticide-free.

What to avoid

• Honey, gelatin-based candies, non-vegan liquor glazes.
• Shellac-finished woods and horsehair brushes for zesting—choose synthetic alternatives.

Sourcing in 2026: what’s easier to find now

By 2026 many of the ingredients that were once specialty items are easier to source:

• Pandan and tamarind paste are common at mainstream supermarkets and online grocers in Western markets; for local sourcing strategies check guides on hyperlocal fresh markets.
• Yuzu juice concentrates have become more stable and widely available; look for cold-pressed or pasteurized options to avoid funky flavors.
• Rice gin and rice-based distillates — craft distilleries in Japan, Taiwan and Southeast Asia expanded exports in 2025; boutique labels now ship to many countries.
• Vegan-certified spirits and liqueurs are more common—check brand sites for vegan logos or contact customer service. Increased consumer focus on transparency follows the same patterns in other industries, from sustainable fashion to gallery operations (sustainability trends and sustainable operations).

Allergen notes & dietary flags

Always list allergens and non-vegan ingredients if you serve drinks to guests. Common pitfalls include bitters that use honey or glycerin derived from animal fats. When in doubt, swap in homemade tinctures or syrups to control ingredients.

Scaling for a party or bar pop-up

Want to feature a Southeast Asian cocktail flight? Use these scaling tips:

• Batch pandan-infused gin by formula (10g pandan : 175ml gin) and multiply. Keep chilled and label the bottlenecked infusion date.
• Pre-mix syrups (tamarind, pandan, lemongrass) in 1–2 liter airtight bottles—saves time during service.
• Use portioned jiggers or a measured pump for consistency—guests notice variation. If you’re running events, see practical guides for pop-up ops and edge-first POS, micro-showroom setups (micro-showrooms) and small venue programming (small venues & creator commerce).

Future predictions: what to expect in Southeast Asian vegan cocktails beyond 2026

Look for deeper regional specificity: local fermentation traditions (rice wines, lao khao) adapted into cocktails, more certified vegan liqueurs, and wider adoption of upcycled ingredients (spent grain, fruit pulp) for syrups and bitters. For ideas on upcycled and small-batch supply chains, see playbooks on small-batch scaling and curated bundling strategies for local events (curated bundles & pop-ups).

Actionable takeaways

• Start simple: make the pandan infusion and a batch of tamarind syrup—two ingredients that unlock several cocktails.
• Use aquafaba: swap it in for egg whites to keep sours vegan without compromising texture.
• Verify labels: check vermouths and bitters for animal-derived fining agents; when unsure, DIY with botanicals.
• Choose finishes carefully: pick tools and garnishes free from shellac, gelatin, honey, and other animal products; if you’re doing a weekend event, compact power and kit reviews like compact smart plug kits and solar pop-up kits can make a big difference in set-up time.

Final notes

Southeast Asian ingredients offer a vibrant new vocabulary for vegan cocktails. Whether you’re riffing on Bun House Disco’s pandan negroni or designing a yuzu-forward menu for a dinner party, the combination of rice spirits, tropical aromatics and modern vegan techniques creates drinks that are memorable, sustainable and delicious. If you want to turn these recipes into a recurring offering or newsletter, review strategies in micro-experience to subscription playbooks.

Try one tonight

Make the pandan negroni or the tamarind sour this week. Take photos of your garnish technique and tag us—share what worked and what you tweaked so the community can learn. Want more tested recipes and step-by-step video demos? Sign up for our weekly newsletter for new seasonal recipes, sourcing guides and chef-tested techniques.

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