Find the main ingredients of the Japanese style of whiskey sour at the end of the story.

Michael, the new bartender at the Avenue Couronne 476, stood a freshly mixed cocktail in front of Guy, waiting for Guy to take a sip, a question in his eye.

“Rare. A bit sour. Not an easy drink. What is in it?”

“Give it some time, it needs more sips. I can´t tell you all, it is a secret. Een geheim. Michael used the word from his native Dutch, and then continued in French. “I am taking an online course on drink mixing.”

“Ha!” Guy chuckled. Online cocktail mixing? Funny, right?”

“Not so much. I receive the ingredients to the doorstep, the basics I buy myself. We learn the method, the technique, the process. It opens new senses if you want to know. So, guess, at least one component you must guess.”

“Whiskey.”

“Clever boy. Which kind?”

You want too much there, but true, the second sip is more appealing.”

Michael nodded, “Good. How is your love life, then? I have seen you talking to the two ladies the other day, your German dumpling and Diana. Michael´s voice dropped to a softer tone.”

“Oh, yes, for the record, I only fuck Ute. Strange is, the other day Diana has found out that Ute is pregnant, just glimpsing at her.  Not with me, she confessed. A surprise, mate, I tell you. She really got me with those curves. Now, the belly is becoming obvious, so I was bound to disclose it anyway. Diana and Ute are sort of friends and sort of in one boat there with their maternal instincts.”

“Two ladies involving two babies, none of them yours. Interesting course of events. Well, these are strange times for sure. What are you going to do? Are you going to parent? To pay for nappies and schools later? In your place, I would run away as fast as I could.”

Guy was sipping the strange strong mixture where whiskey mingled with something citrusy, sour and bitter, for sure not an easy taste. Listening to Michael and the scornful tone, he was not a bit ashamed, he realized. If anything, he felt relieved. Right, there is a baby on the way and another one in a pram around, but neither of them bearing his genes, a very refreshing, liberating feeling.

“Next time when the two are here I will mix them something nice and ask them a few questions. Clever, smart, to hook a poor guy into their breeding projects.”

“Well, Michael, as you are saying that, let me tell you that the situation suits me fine. I have no plans to spread my genes, I do not intend to look for my features on a silly small face and worry about what the baby might have inherited. Anyway, I don´t know for how long Ute can sleep with me, I have no clue about pregnancy business. I mean, will there be space for a guy to enter with the creature growing inside?”

Michael shrugged his shoulders, “That is for you to figure out.”

“We have made plans together – to rent a house outside the town, where we can live all together. Co-habitation. Cut down expenses. The girls will help each other, and as it goes with the girls, they will attract female company, so I will sit in a treasure cave, virtually. In the meantime, Ute will have her child and can figure life what to do. Diana could start working again; she is a scientist, after all. I tele-work anyway. I will have my own study where I spend the days, coffees and food served. I love gardening, so we are looking for a house with a substantial ground.”

“Oh,” Michael bit his lip. “Post-corona hippies. Nothing for me. I would very much ensure that the child my partner brings to the world is my material. Otherwise, why bother. However, you, the Bruxellois are a strange lot. That is for sure.”

“You come one day to a garden party, see a garden full of giggling chicks. You might find yourself a candidate for the pure breed of yours. We most probably take a house in Overijse, in your area.”

“One more cocktail, buddy? It is not the cheapest booze, just to warn you. 30 crowns.”

“Oh yes, one more, to hell with that. We only live once in C-19 times.”

Yuzu coctail suggested on Nikka Coffey Grain Japanese whisky, egg white, lemon juice and yuzu juice.

For more, I leave you with your resources.