A Charlatan Bartender Subdues An Ingredient That Smells Like Dead People

       But once you get past the smell of the durian, Gara says, working with it isn’t much different than working with any other savory ingredient in a cocktail. “It was definitely a process of trying to pair it with different flavors and having it fail miserably.” He found that the spiciness of whiskey worked well with the flavor of durian, and to play up the fruit’s vegetal qualities and sweeten it, he made a juice of durian, carrot, and guava.