Singapore’s Cat Bite Club introduced Get the MSG?, a savory cocktail built around monosodium glutamate and crafted by co-owner Jesse Vida, featuring a Szechuan peppercorn-infused tomato cordial and an Asahi beer float. The drink positions MSG not as a garnish but as the conceptual starting point, designed to sharpen umami and broaden savory cocktail profiles.
The recipe blends mezcal fat-washed with chilli oil, Cynar, peach liqueur, citrus and celery bitters, finished with a mini Asahi float and sun-dried tomato oil for layered texture and aroma. For consumers, the cocktail reframes a familiar culinary seasoning as a viable mixology ingredient, offering a bolder, cross-cultural savory option that taps into rising interest in umami-driven drinks and global flavor mashups.
Savory MSG-Forward Cocktails
Cat Bite Club Launches Get the MSG? Cocktail
Trend Themes
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Umami-first Mixology — Elevates glutamate-rich components to primary flavor drivers, enabling new categories of drinks centered on savory depth and mouthfeel.
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Culinary-ingredient Cocktails — Positions pantry staples such as MSG and sun-dried tomato oil as core mixology constituents, blurring kitchen and bar ingredient hierarchies.
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Cross-cultural Savory Mashups — Signals increased consumer appetite for global flavor unions that combine East Asian umami techniques with Western cocktail formats.
Industry Implications
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Bars and Nightlife — A venue-differentiation vector where signature savory programs shift guest expectations around cocktail flavor profiles.
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Food and Beverage Manufacturing — Creates scope for flavor houses and ingredient suppliers to develop liquid MSG blends and umami-focused modifiers tailored for bartending use.
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Hospitality and Tourism — Offers culinary tourism hooks as savory cocktail menus become attractions that showcase regional umami influences.