“Any time you go to a Korean restaurant, you can get fixings served in little garnish bowls. I incorporate my love for food and Asian culture into a culinary aspect for my drinks,” he says. His latest creations are his candied key limes, made by dipping dehydrated key lime wheels into white chocolate flavored with matcha green tea and Asian candies. The tart and bitter key limes balance with the herbal matcha and sugary white chocolate for one fruity bite. Sivley came up with his candied key limes while browsing fresh ingredients at his favorite international market. For global inspiration, he visits Saraga International Grocery near Speedway northwest of downtown Indianapolis, where the smells of Asian noodles, chilled seafood and ripening mangos are enough to bask any foodie with culinary aromatherapy. “I’ve been all over the country and Saraga rivals many other markets,” Sivley says. “You can spend a whole afternoon there. I have before, many times.”
ELE VAT E T H E S P I RI T With his global perspective, attention to detail and sentimental approach, Sivley might shift his guests’ perceptions of what cocktails and bartenders can be. But not everyone sees it that way. “A fellow bartender once gave me a hard time about how you’re not going to change the world with drinks. And I may be a romantic or maybe just a little deluded, but I don’t think that’s the case. I think that you can change the world through drink,” he says. He does have a mission of his own: to change the perception that people have to over-imbibe to have a good time. Sivley wants to encourage people to drink lower proofs, or lower alcohol by volume (ABV), in order to enjoy cocktails more. His approach to cocktailing is to elevate spirits, not cover them up. What’s more, he elevates his guests’ spirits, too. “My approach to life is deliberate. I don’t really want to be doing anything just to be doing it. That’s a waste of motion,” Sivley says. “So anytime I make a drink, I prefer to think about what I want to say.” And people are listening.
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edible INDY
Summer 2019
M ATC HA C AND IED KEY LI M ES 5 key limes, each cut into 3 thin wheels ½ cup sugar ½ cup water 2 cups white chocolate chips ¼ cup instant matcha powder Combine key limes, sugar and water in saucepan for 3 minutes. Remove key limes and dehydrate. If you do not have a dehydrator, spread wheels in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes at 175°F. Temper the white chocolate and matcha until melted. Dip limes, place in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet and refrigerate until solid. Visit EdibleIndy.com for Sively’s recipe for a Genghis Khallins Punch Bowl. Featured in photograph on page 33.
