Jo Drew / Bar Manager, Screaming Tuna Sushi, Milwaukee and Mequon, Wisconsin

Celebrate National Sushi Day on June 18! Pairing just the right beverage with this popular item from Japanese cuisine may seem daunting. Sake and Japanese lager are common choices. Sparkling wine and various white wines also come to mind because they complement the delicate flavor of sushi.

But what if the mood or the occasion calls for a cocktail? Jo Drew, Bar Manager for Milwaukee’s top sushi restaurant, Screaming Tuna, reads a customer’s mood and preference before suggesting a cocktail and follows with sushi pairings.

“I start with the drink and suggest the pairing from there because that’s what is going to be coating your mouth already,” Jo explains. “It’s tough to gauge how adventurous people are, this being Wisconsin where sushi is a transplant from a more urban foodsetting.”

Japanese cocktails are as much a work of art as a plate of sushi, with layers of fresh, delicate flavors. Tea infusions are one of Jo’s favorite approaches based on Japanese methods.

“You never know how good an alcohol will taste until you steep it with some tea for a day,” Jo says. “I use a lot of different elements of citrus and bitters multi-layered with tea syrups and sake infusions.”

Screaming Tuna Sushi & Asian Bistro in Milwaukee and Mequon is Wisconsin’s first Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch Partner and the winner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel award for Best Sushi in Milwaukee. Founded in 2011, owners Cristian Vega and Jeff Bronstad focus on sustainable sushi and inventive Japanese fusion. Their location along the Milwaukee River has a large patio where people and their dogs congregate in warm weather. In 2018, Screaming Tuna expanded to Mequon Public Market where “The Lil’ Tuna” has a sociable sushi bar and ramen bowls. Like their seafood, everything on the menu at Screaming Tuna is selected with quality in mind, which led them to The Perfect Purée.

Jo uses The Perfect Purée’s complimentary sample program to develop drinks because the 4-oz. sample size makes him think carefully about the ratio of purée to liquor and other ingredients. He uses fruit purée sparingly as an additive to complement the liquor without making his drinks too sweet, which kills the flavor of fish.

The bar menu at Screaming Tuna is updated seasonally with direction from the kitchen. New on the menu this summer, a drink called Lycheehime layers The Perfect Purée Lychee Puree, fig vodka, crème de flora, blueberry rooibos tea and a float of lime zest to resemble a lychee, the tropical fruit that’s popular in Japanese cuisine.

Jo says the soft flavor of lychee pairs well with the floral spirits and complements sushi with light fish and veggies. He suggests it with a roll called Eye of the Tiger that includes salmon, yellowtail, avocado, cucumber, asparagus, jalapeño and lemon miso sauce.

“A good more tropical drink will bring out the flavors of that,” Jo says.

Stronger flavors in fried rolls and crab rolls pair well with whisky, a spirit Americans might not associate with sushi (and spell with an ‘e’ as in ‘whiskey’) but which often goes with sushi in Japan where whisky styles are lighter and less peaty that traditional Scotch whisky.

Jo says Japanese whiskies pair well with purées and blends such as The Perfect Purée Blackberry Purée, Strawberry Purée and Thai Basil & Black Pepper blend. The herbaceous, berry flavor of gin, bitters, ginseng tea and The Perfect Purée Blackberry Purée in a drink called Gin + Ginseng pairs well with tuna, salmon and whitefish. People also enjoy spicy flavors with sushi. Screaming Tuna has paired The Perfect Purée Chipotle Sour blend and Blood Orange Concentrate with cannabis vodka for a drink with big earthy flavors and citrusy spice.

Jo says Screaming Tuna pushed its cocktail menu in a new direction during the pandemic to boost take-out sales and customers have responded enthusiastically.