12 November 2025
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Tokaji Aszú, the 'Wine of Kings, King of Wines', has long reigned supreme when it comes to sweet wines. Traditionally, chefs and sommeliers have always looked to this noble rot wine as an end-of-the-meal match for the likes of blue cheese or apricot tarts, not veering too far from the path in terms of its use as a dessert pairing. Now, however, its uses are becoming better understood, and both kitchen and bar teams are beginning to discover the exciting potential this sweet wine has to offer.
The age-worthy bottles offer a beautiful complexity that is able to shine as much in a cocktail as when paired with a dessert. Crafting reimagined twists on classic recipes, sommeliers and mixologists are starting to show how Aszú can be much more than just an afterthought paired with something sweet. This drink can comfortably belong on the table right from the start of the meal – especially when sipped alongside a whimsical selection of haute hors d’oeuvres and MICHELIN-Starred snacks, as featured at these restaurants around the UK.
Ardfern, Leith, Edinburgh – Róbert Roy
A riff on the 19th-century Rob Roy cocktail, whose creation can be credited to New York’s iconic Waldorf Astoria, Ardfern in Edinburgh trades out the traditional vermouth for Tokaji Aszú. Swapping the fortified wine for a sweeter option like Tokaji imparts a honeyed spice note that blends beautifully with the whisky’s butterscotch aroma. The laid-back, all-day café, bar and bottle shop in Leith is known for its vast wine menu, which pairs nicely with snacks like sunflower seed hummus and oysters. For a cocktail as boozy as this one, with a mouthfeel that can stand up to stronger flavours, the team suggests sipping it post-meal while nibbling on creamy Wigmore cheese, honey-tinged fig jam and crunchy grilled sourdough.Ingredients
• 45 ml Blind Summit Whisky Glencadam• 30 ml Tokaji Aszú
• Dash orange bitters
• Lemon zest
Preparation
1. Stir down ingredients over ice2. Pour into a frozen coupe
3. Zest the lemon and then discard before serving
Alex Dilling at Hotel Café Royal, London – Aszú Sour
Two-Starred Alex Dilling sits within the Two-Key Hotel Café Royal (a former bar and restaurant once frequented by the likes of Oscar Wilde), and here, at this eponymous restaurant, the London-born chef is known for infusing a modernised flair into traditional French fare. Case in point: his marinated sardine roll, an Asian-inspired spin filled with green radish, cucumber, shiso and basil. When paired with this riff on a Whisky Sour (the chef is a huge fan of the classic cocktail), the sweetness of the Tokaji subs for the simple syrup found in the traditional version. Designed in collaboration with Head Sommelier Guiseppe Grasso, the lime juice in the cocktail tempers the fattiness of the sardine while acidity is played with across both the drink and the dish – which is a wonderful contrast to the stone fruit and honeyed notes in the wine.Ingredients
• A large cube or sphere of ice• 25ml Loch Lomond Original Single Malt Whisky
• 75ml 2016 Oremus Tokaji Aszú 3 Puttonyos
• 10ml fresh lime juice
Preparation
1. Place all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker and stir with ice2. Pour into a tumbler glass with a large cube or sphere of ice
Canton Blue, London – Tokaji Whisper
The lavish Three-Key Peninsula London hotel plays host to Canton Blue, as well as to a sumptuous cocktail bar, Little Blue, which provides the perfect way to kick off an evening. The restaurant offers a great selection of Chinese rice wines, but this take on an Aszú cocktail does wonders in terms of flavour pairings when sipped alongside the restaurant’s signature Cantonese dishes – and can even serve as a pre-meal palate cleanser. Bright and light, the lower-alcohol Tokaji Whisper delicately balances the wine’s elegant sweetness and floral aromas with ingredients like pear liqueur and verjus (unfermented grape juice), which provide an air of freshness and crisp acidity. The refreshing drink enhances flavours in a plate like the black truffle crispy tofu, since the cocktail’s sweet and floral notes stand up to the earthy umami from the truffle – which arrives wrapped to perfection in a crisp golden shell.Ingredients
• Large ice block• 1.25ml fresh ginger-infused vinegar (infuse for 48 hours)
• 5ml St-Germain elderflower liqueur
• 5ml Merlet Crème de Poire liqueur
• 15ml verjus
• 40ml Tokaji Aszú
• 75ml tonic water
• Red shiso (perilla) for garnish
Preparation
1. Choose your serving glass and fill with ice2. Pour ingredients in the given order directly over the ice
3. Give the drink a quick, gentle stir to combine the ingredients
4. Finish with red shiso garnish
City Social, London – City Social Tokaji
Sky bars often focus on the view first and the cocktails second, but at City Social, the panoramic shots of London’s landmarks from the 24th floor of Tower 42 are the inspiration for the modern British restaurant’s libations. For the namesake Tokaji cocktail, Bar Manager Kevin Gomez crafted a drink that reflects London’s vibrant cocktail culture and the timeless elegance of Tokaji Aszú. “There’s something special about discovering harmony in contrasts – the burnished acidity of a centuries-old Hungarian dessert wine, the deep, rich flavours of a herbal liqueur, the fresh lift of berries and the fizzy verve of champagne,” he says. “I love this drink because every element has its moment.”The Tokaji Aszú brings golden, apricot-honeyed sweetness with a balancing acidity, while the berry-infused vodka adds depth and freshness. Elderflower gives floral grace, the apricot brandy echoes the stone fruit in the wine and the Bénédictine D.O.M. weaves in herbal complexity. The finishing factor: champagne, which “lifts everything with sparkle and elegance” says Gomez, adding that it pairs wonderfully with a delicate dish like Cornish bluefin tuna topped with vibrant Isle of Wight tomato gazpacho.
Ingredients
• 25ml Tokaji Aszú• 50ml vodka infused with fresh berries
• 7.5ml elderflower liqueur
• 7.5ml apricot brandy
• 7.5ml Bénédictine D.O.M.
• Champagne, to top
Preparation
1. Combine the vodka with berries, elderflower liqueur, Bénédictine D.O.M, apricot brandy and Tokaji Aszú in a mixing tin2. 'Throw' the mixture by pouring it back and forth between two tins to aerate and lightly chill without excess dilution
3. Strain into a chilled stemmed glass or elegant coupe
4. Gently top with chilled champagne to add sparkle
5. Garnish with a fresh berry or a delicate twist of citrus peel
Ekstedt at The Yard, London – Amber of Tokaj
Niklas Ekstedt’s namesake restaurant at the Great Scotland Yard London hotel revolves around the Swedish chef’s refined, open-flame cuisine, so it’s no surprise they’ve applied the same philosophy to this fire-driven Tokaji libation. Head Sommelier Klearchos Kanellakis places Hungary’s golden nectar at the core of the cocktail, lifting its honeyed orchard richness with crème d’abricot and deepening the profile with smoky whisky, bitters and a wisp of tobacco grappa for “a radiant balance of sweetness and flame” he explains. “The delicate thread of tobacco grappa rises like embers.”The combination of bitters and simple syrup “frame the radiance without obscuring it”, which makes it an ideal cocktail to sip alongside the restaurant’s flambadou scallop with Ibérico lardo and damson plum. Seared with beef fat to create a caramelised crust while keeping the centre raw, the Isle of Skye scallop has a touch of sweetness from the preserved damson plum, which heightens the Tokaji Aszú's sun-dried fruit notes, while the silken, house-cured Ibérico lardo is the perfect complement to the tobacco grappa and smoky whisky.
Ingredients
• Moon ball ice cube• 25ml Juliet Victor Late Harvest Tokaj
• 40ml Johnnie Walker Black Label whisky
• 2.5ml Merlet Lune d’Abricot
• 1ml tobacco grapa
• Bitters
• Simple syrup
Preparation
1. Stir all ingredients in a mixing glass over ice until well chilled and properly diluted2. Pour in a large cognac glass and garnish with citrus smoke
Montagu's Mews, Bath – Tokaji Aszú Martini
The classic martini’s history is believed to date back to early 1900s New York and continues to be the subject of debate: Gin or vodka? Shaken or stirred? Dry or dirty? At Montagu’s Mews in Bath, the timeless cocktail is given a new twist entirely playing on the sweetness of Aszú with a larger pour that allows the wine to shine through – especially when blending with a neutral spirit like vodka. Swapping traditional garnishes like olives and cocktail onions for a tangerine peel and spritz of ginger essence accentuates the Aszú’s characteristic aromas, which pair beautifully with a savoury snack like chicken liver parfait tartlet.Montagu’s Mews injects a slight bitterness to the tartlet with the addition of chicory jam and a garnish of Tokaji-poached grapes that “burst with caramelised fruitiness on the palate” before topping with crispy chicken skin and fresh thyme. A Tokaji Aszú Martini has enough acidity to cut through the richness of the decadent chicken liver, while further enhancing the subtly sweet notes from the wine, such as apricot, honey and orange blossom.
Ingredients
• Ice• 25ml Tokaji Aszú 5 Puttonyos
• 30ml Sapling Vodka
• Dash of RinQuinQuin à la Pêche peach aperitif
• One drop of saline liqueur (1 to 4 salt to water ratio)
• Ginger essence (in a spray bottle)
• Tangerine peel
Preparation
1. Freeze a martini glass2. Fill mixing glass with ice
3. Add the Tokaji Aszú 5 Puttonyos, Sapling Vodka and RinQuinQuin peach liqueur
4. Stir well until chilled
5. Strain into the martini glass
6. Garnish with a tangerine peel and spritz with ginger essence before serving
As these restaurants show, the noble Tokaji Aszú is no longer just a dessert wine, it can be an aperitif, a digestif and everything in between when combined with the right flavours. With a strength that transcends cuisines and cultures, the sweet wine can blend beautifully with a complexity of flavours, for a cocktail sure to enhance everything from seared scallops to chicken liver parfait.
Hero Image: The Hungarian Aszú-wine-based 'City Social Tokaji' cocktail at Jason Atherton's handsome restaurant on the 24th floor of Tower 42 in London (© City Social)
This post is brought to you in partnership with Visit Hungary
