How to Make Bun House Disco’s Pandan Negroni at Home

Make Bun House Disco’s Pandan Negroni at Home — even if you don’t have exotic bottles

Short on time, intimidated by obscure ingredients, or stuck with a barren liquor cabinet? You’re not alone. Recreating a bar-quality pandan negroni at home should feel possible for the busy home bartender — not like decoding an advanced chemistry set. This guide gives a clear, tested pathway to reproduce Bun House Disco’s iconic pandan negroni, plus practical substitutions, batch instructions, troubleshooting tips, and a printable cocktail card you can tuck in your recipe box.

Why this pandan negroni matters in 2026

In late 2025 and into 2026, Asian-inspired cocktails continued to move from niche menus into mainstream home bartending. Ingredients like pandan and rice-based spirits are now easier to find, and home bartenders are seeking recipes that combine nostalgia with simplicity. Bun House Disco’s pandan negroni — created by Linus Leung — marries classic negroni structure with southern Asian aromatics, giving you a cocktail that’s familiar yet distinctly green and fragrant.

For home bartenders, that means you can deliver elevated drinks for dinner guests without exotic technique. This article focuses on reproducible steps, ingredient swaps when bottles are scarce, and food-pairing and presentation tips so the drink feels like the real thing.

What you’ll learn (quick skim)

• How to make pandan-infused rice gin (single-serve and batch).
• Step-by-step mixing for the pandan negroni (25ml gin, 15ml white vermouth, 15ml green chartreuse).
• Practical substitutions for green Chartreuse, white vermouth, and rice gin.
• Pandan syrup recipe, storage, and scaling.
• A printable cocktail card you can print or save as a PDF.

Ingredients & gear — what to shop for

Core ingredients (single serve)

• 25ml pandan-infused rice gin (or substitution — see below)
• 15ml white vermouth (Bianco if available; see swaps)
• 15ml green Chartreuse (or substitution — see swaps)
• Ice (large cubes preferred)
• Optional: pandan leaf or orange twist for garnish

Gear

• Blender or food processor (or jar and muddler)
• Fine sieve or muslin cloth (for straining)
• Mixing glass or tumbler
• Bar spoon and jigger
• Bench knife for chopping pandan

Hard-to-find ingredient substitutions (and why they work)

Bars often use rice gin for its rounded, often slightly umami backbone that pairs beautifully with pandan. If you can’t find rice gin, here are reliable alternatives that preserve the spirit of the drink.

Rice gin

• Best: a Japanese or Asian-style gin (Ki No Bi, Roku, or other floral, rice-influenced gins) — they bring rice or yuzu notes.
• Workaround: Gin + sake blend. Mix 3 parts neutral or London-dry gin with 1 part Junmai sake. The sake adds rice umami and soft mouthfeel.
• Quick alternative: use a clean, floral gin and add 5–8ml pandan syrup to the cocktail to hint at rice-like sweetness.

Green Chartreuse

Green Chartreuse is unique — intensely herbal, sweet-bitter, and potent. If it’s unavailable (regional supply or budget), use these substitutions and adjust proportions:

• Bénédictine + a dash of an impossible-to-find herbal amaro (or 1–2 drops of absinthe): use 20ml Bénédictine + 3–4ml of a bitter herbal spirit; reduce sweetness elsewhere.
• Licor 43 or Strega as warmer, sweeter alternatives; cut volume to 10–12ml and reduce other sweet elements.
• Note: none replicate Chartreuse exactly. When possible, use the genuine spirit and treat substitutions as creative riffs rather than exact copies.

White vermouth

The recipe calls for white vermouth — typically a Bianco-style vermouth with soft sweetness and floral notes.

• Substitute: quality dry vermouth + 4–6ml simple syrup (if you need sweetness).
• Alternative: Lillet Blanc or Cocchi Storico Bianco (both are slightly fruitier and work well).

Pandan leaves

If fresh pandan isn’t available, you can use:

• Frozen pandan leaves (thaw and use as fresh).
• Pandan extract — use sparingly (a few drops) to avoid artificial intensity.
• If none: substitute with a small strip of lime leaf + a touch more pandan syrup or add an aromatic green like basil to echo the bright herbal top notes.

Step-by-step: Single-serve pandan negroni (tested method)

This is the tested workflow I use at home to make a pandan negroni that matches Bun House Disco’s balance.

Make pandan-infused gin (single-serve)

1. Prepare pandan: remove the dark green part of a 10g pandan leaf (about a thumb-sized piece). Rinse and roughly chop.
2. In a blender, combine the chopped pandan with 175ml rice gin if making a larger batch. For a single serve infusion, blitz 25ml of gin with a small strip of pandan for 10–20 seconds — blending releases essential oils quickly.
3. Strain through a fine sieve lined with muslin or a coffee filter to remove solids. The gin should take on a vivid green color and fragrant aroma.
4. Taste: if pandan flavor is faint, steep a bit longer (up to 2 hours refrigerated). If it’s strong and vegetal, dilute with a little more gin.

Mix the drink

1. Measure: 25ml pandan-infused gin, 15ml white vermouth (Bianco), 15ml green Chartreuse.
2. Place ingredients in a mixing glass with plenty of ice.
3. Stir for 20–30 seconds until nicely chilled and diluted (~20–25% dilution by volume is a common target for spirit-forward stirred cocktails).
4. Strain into a chilled tumbler over a single large cube or a few medium cubes.
5. Garnish: express an orange peel over the drink and discard, or tuck a folded pandan leaf (lightly toasted for aroma) for effect.

Batching & storage (party mode)

Want to serve multiple cocktails without mixing each one individually? Batch the infused gin and the cocktail base. This is how I batch for 8 servings:

• Pandan-infused gin: chop 80g pandan leaves, blitz with 1.4L rice gin, strain, and bottle. Chill and use within 2 weeks.
• Cocktail base for 8: 200ml pandan gin, 120ml white vermouth, 120ml green Chartreuse. Mix, chill, and decant into a dispenser. Stir each serving over ice before pouring.

Tip: keep the bottled infused gin refrigerated and use within 10–14 days for best fresh green aromatics. If stored longer, the color and top notes fade but the flavour remains usable.

Pandan syrup — a useful companion

Making your own pandan syrup is simple and versatile. This syrup is handy if you can’t get fresh pandan or want a sweeter, aromatic boost.

Pandan simple syrup (1:1)

1. Combine 200ml water and 200g granulated sugar in a small saucepan.
2. Add 2–3 pandan leaves (washed and bruised) or 10–12g of chopped fresh pandan.
3. Bring to a gentle simmer; stir until sugar dissolves. Simmer for 5 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and cool. Strain and bottle. Refrigerate — use within 2 weeks.

For longer storage, make a 2:1 syrup (2 parts sugar to 1 part water) and use the same pandan infusion method; this keeps for up to a month refrigerated.

Techniques & pro tips for home bartenders

• Control dilution: Stir to preserve clarity and texture; shaking adds cloudiness. Stir 20–30 seconds over ice for the right dilution.
• Ice size: Large cubes melt slower and keep the drink colder without over-diluting. If you don’t have big cubes, chill the mixing glass extras and use smaller cubes but stir longer.
• Balance bitterness: Chartreuse is herbal and bitter. If the drink tastes too bitter, add 2–4ml pandan syrup or reduce the Chartreuse by 2–3ml.
• Aromatics: Express an orange peel or quickly torch a pandan leaf for smoke; aroma sells the cocktail even before the first sip.
• Glassware: Use a rocks glass or an old-fashioned tumbler. Presentation is part of the experience.

Common mistakes and quick fixes

• Too vegetal infusion: dilute with extra gin or rest the infusion for 24 hours in the fridge.
• Oversweet from substitutes: cut syrup or Chartreuse substitute by 10–20% and increase vermouth slightly.
• Faint pandan color or aroma: blitz more pandan or add 3–6ml pandan syrup; fresh leaves give the brightest color.

Pro tip: If you’ll be making pandan-infused spirits regularly, freeze-clean a small supply of pandan leaves (vacuum-packed or frozen) — they hold aroma better than leaves left at room temperature.

Printable cocktail card

Print this simple card or save the page as a PDF and tuck it into your home bar folder.

Pairings and occasions

The pandan negroni is a versatile cocktail for Asian-inspired meals. Try it with:

• Rich, spicy dishes like char siu or dry chilli prawns — the herbal lift cuts through fat.
• Dim sum or sharable bao plates — serve small pours as an aperitif.
• Late-night playlists and relaxed gatherings: the drink’s neon-green look is perfect for a retro-themed party; good lighting helps the look — consider a smart LED option if you photograph drinks often.

Advanced variations

• Pandan Boulevardier: Swap gin for pandan-infused bourbon for a sweeter, richer riff.
• Low-ABV version: Replace gin with equal parts white vermouth + 5ml pandan syrup; reduce Chartreuse to 8–10ml.
• Smoky pandan: Lightly torch a pandan leaf and capture its smoke over the glass before serving.

2026 trends — why you should learn this recipe now

Home bartending continued to diversify through 2025 and into 2026. Three trends make the pandan negroni especially relevant:

1. Ingredient accessibility: More craft distilleries released rice-based gins and botanical-forward spirits in 2025, making rice gin easier to source globally.
2. Flavor-forward low-waste cooking: Home cooks and bartenders are using whole ingredients (leaves, peels) to reduce waste; pandan infusions are a perfect match for this ethic.
3. Hybrid drinking occasions: People increasingly host hybrid dinner-party/video gatherings; visually striking drinks like the pandan negroni photograph well and travel well to a host’s bar cart.

Mastering this drink gives you a modern classic that taps into both nostalgia and contemporary flavor trends.

Final actionable takeaways

• Make a small pandan-infused gin batch first (175ml) to test flavor before scaling up.
• If Chartreuse is unavailable, use Bénédictine or Strega carefully and adjust sweetness.
• Stir, don’t shake — the pandan negroni should be clear, silky, and gently diluted.
• Use pandan syrup to rescue faint pandan flavor or to balance bitterness.
• Print the cocktail card and keep it near your bar — it saves time and ensures consistency. For tidy presentation and storage when batching, consider eco-friendly containers and carriers for chilled bottles.

Call to action

Ready to try it? Make a small pandan-infused gin tonight and tag your creation on social with #PandanNegroni and #BunHouseDisco — I’ll share my top recreations and troubleshooting notes. If you want a printable PDF of the recipe card formatted for A6, click print from this page or copy the card into your notes app.

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