🌟 Tiger's Eye

Cinnamon, star anise, lemon & Wilderton bittersweet aperitivo — Copra SF

8 min
Spiced & Aromatic
Rocks glass or coupe
Copra, San Francisco
0% ABV
  • Cinnamon-star anise syrup: simmer 2 cinnamon sticks + 3 star anise in 200ml water + 150g sugar for 10 min. Cool & strain.
  • 40ml cinnamon-star anise syrup
  • 40ml Wilderton Bittersweet Aperitivo (or Lyre's Aperitif Rosso, or Seedlip Spice 94)
  • 25ml fresh lemon juice
  • 60ml sparkling water
  • Ice
  • Cinnamon stick & star anise to garnish

  1. 1
    SyrupMake cinnamon-star anise syrup ahead and cool completely. Refrigerates well for 2 weeks.
  2. 2
    ShakeCombine cinnamon syrup, Wilderton, and lemon juice in shaker with ice. Shake for 10 seconds.
  3. 3
    StrainStrain into a rocks glass over a large cube, or into a chilled coupe.
  4. 4
    TopAdd sparkling water. Stir once.
  5. 5
    GarnishRest a cinnamon stick and a star anise on the surface of the drink.

About This Drink

Tiger's Eye takes its name from the gemstone — a deep amber-brown, striped with gold — which matches the colour of the drink perfectly. Cinnamon (dalchini — the inner bark of the Cinnamomum tree, grown across Sri Lanka, Kerala, and South India) is the primary warming note; star anise (chakri phool — used in North Indian biryanis and South Indian rasam) provides the liquorice-adjacent anise warmth. Together they read as chai without the tea, or biryani without the rice. Lemon cuts through the spice. Wilderton's Bittersweet Aperitivo (a NA spirit with wormwood, gentian, and citrus character) provides the depth and bitterness of a Campari without any alcohol. A drink that drinks like winter feels.

Ceylon cinnamon (Sri Lankan cinnamon, also called 'true cinnamon') has a more delicate, floral flavour than Cassia cinnamon (the common US supermarket cinnamon). Either works, but Ceylon produces a more refined syrup. Wilderton Bittersweet Aperitivo is available online and at specialty NA bottle shops — Seedlip Spice 94 is the most widely available substitute.

Restaurant
Copra, San Francisco
Origin
Contemporary Indian, North Beach SF
Flavour
Spiced & Aromatic · Easy
Restaurant
Copra
Address
1700 Fillmore St, San Francisco, CA 94115
Style
Modern Indian cuisine & cocktails
Accolades
Michelin Bib Gourmand · One of SF's most acclaimed Indian restaurants

A Pacific Heights gem where Indian flavours meet California produce. Copra's bar programme is built on house-made infusions and seasonal ingredients — jaggery, kokum, dried mango, fresh turmeric — interpreted through a California craft cocktail lens. The result is a drinks menu that feels simultaneously rooted in the subcontinent and completely native to San Francisco.

Visit coprasf.com