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'Drink for Solidarity' offers a toast to Chinese chorizo cocktails & Tucson history

Local project, chefs and brands will offer guests samples of creations, as they compete in a showcase of a historic Southern Arizona food
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TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — This latest taste is a preview of a fun night out for drinks and apps at Zerai's Bar in Midtown.

Several local drink brands are taking Chinese chorizo and its story to create brand-new cocktails and competing to see who's the best. Here's part of our conversation with the mind leading the Chinese Chorizo Project in Tucson, and a local bartender perfecting his own new recipe for Tuesday night's event.

We asked chef Feng Feng Yeh how she would describe the meaty treat to those who haven't tried it before. "Garlic, ginger and all those Mexican spices like Mexican oregano, different chiles, chiltepin even!"

Talking to Yeh, she said her project continues to build on its partnerships with home-grown and regional companies. In the case of 'A Drink for Solidarity,' the project and Chinese Chorizo Festival have brought on drink brands like Whiskey del Bac and Ray Ray's — from Tucson — and Manchado Bacanora from Sonora, Mexico.

"The thing that I really like about this is that we're continuing this spirit of the Chinese chorizo by building community over different projects and creativity," Yeh said.

Yeh herself has taken on much of the mantle, and responsibility, to teach people about how, decades ago, owners and workers in Tucson's Chinese grocery stores would turn scrap meat into a new kind of chorizo, infused with traditionally Mexican spices.

In this Drink for Solidarity contest, Yeh and a group of judges will be looking for more than just the right balance of mixers. "How does this cocktail tell the story of tucson? Of Sonora?" Yeh said. "How does the cocktail tell the story of solidarity?"

Robert Bayze, a bartender from Owls Club, was kind enough to show us his libation creation a week before the competition. He calls it a 'Chorizo Tropical,' and it all hinges on his chorizo-paste-infused simple syrup.

"I think it's really easy to use as a sweetener," Bayze said. "...You could just mix it with maybe your favorite drinks and then do a piña colada variation, a little more savory."

For the Chorizo Tropical, pour two ounces of white rum; a sweetened coconut cream called Coco Lopez; then, a little lime and pineapple juice in a shaker.

Bayze poured a serving of Ray Ray's Sonoran spirit tea to fuse it all into a bubbly spin on piña colada. "It pairs really well with sweet and savory flavors, so you can have this really huge cocktail journey," Yeh said.

'A Drink for Solidarity" goes from 7-10 p.m. Tues. Oct. 29 at Zerai's on Broadway and Treat Avenue; Yeh said guests can check the event out for free and sample different restaurants and bar's original creations featuring Chinese chorizo.

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José Zozaya is an anchor and reporter for KGUN 9. Before arriving in southern Arizona, José worked in Omaha, Nebraska where he covered issues ranging from local, state and federal elections, to toxic chemical spills, and community programs impacting immigrant families. Share your story ideas and important issues with José by emailing jose.zozaya@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.