Choi’s go-to vermouth for her vermouth tonics? “I personally love using Cocchi di Torino vermouth” for a vermouth tonic, says Choi. Cocchi’s sweet, amber-hued Vermouth di Torino is a 16% ABV sipper that’s been around since 1891.

If you can’t find Cocchi, Choi says Carpano Antica’s vermouth is her go-to for her own home. 

“The reason why it's so popular and it works well is that it really hits that right balance of sweetness and dryness,” she says. “And it’s red: Red vermouths do tend to be more popular, because the white ones are much drier. And I do think that in terms of people's pallets, we're still kind of needing that— not sweetness, I would say, but really kind of what that's providing to balance a drink.”

“I think the COVID shift, with lots of people doing drinks at home, what that did for a lot of the general population in terms of folks who are interested in drinks and food is they really kind of leveled up, right?” says Choi. “You know, they started learning a lot about products and and started nerding out a little. 

“So, I would say honestly like five years ago, I would have never talked about ice. But I think now I think ice is a thing.

“It's crazy because there's loads of products out there that really help you get on your ice game. And, you know, everybody wants, really ‘hard’ double-frozen ice that will not dilute your drink, that will shake in a tin and not break apart. Your worst nightmare is like that 7-Eleven ice, you know, like the circle when it has the hole in it. I've had to use that once and I was like, ‘Oh my god. No.’

“We use these molds at the bar, too, when we do our really fancy ices. Basically, imagine like a styrofoam, but like a hard styrofoam insulated ice mold. The way that you freeze your water basically — I’m not a scientist at all — but what the insulation is the ice to freeze from top to bottom instead of just freezing all around like what you do like in an regular ice cube tray. 

|It really pushes all the impurities down and that's really what's creating that clarity in your eyes. You know like when you get that frozen ice, and it looks so beautiful?”

“I use Fever Tree Indian Tonic because I like the kind of zippy and dryness of it,” says Choi. Not overly sweet, but just crisp enough to balance without going bitter. She suggests using a small bottle’s worth, but adjust your proportions as you see fit.

“You know, honestly, in a pinch, I use chopsticks quite a lot [for stirring],” says Choi. “A chopstick makes a great stirrer and a cocktail pick. It doubles.” She prefers Korean-style stainless steel sets.