At NYC’s New Tin’s, Frozen Cognac Cocktails Are Topped With Salted Mascarpone Clouds

Over the past few years, cold foam has crept its way onto just about every type of drink imaginable. At Starbucks, cold brew gets topped with a thick layer of frothy, protein-dosed foam, and trendy cafés throw a big dollop of sweet, light-as-air cream atop lattes to replicate the look of tiramisu or whichever sweet is trending that week. Cocktail bars have even gotten in on the fun, with creations like Bar Americano’s iconic house vermouth topped with orange-flavored foam.

While it might no longer be surprising to see cold foam appear on a cocktail menu, certain presentations still have the ability to turn heads. This is the case at Tin’s, a new Shanghai-inspired cocktail bar and dumpling counter on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, where a frozen, electric-green drink grabs every guest’s attention.

The icy, Cognac-based concoction, playfully called “Timmy’s Brain Blaster,” gets its compelling color from Midori and Giffard Blue Curaçao. But it’s the towering layer of cream — and a single bright-red cherry — that adds that extra level of interest. It looks (and sounds) like something out of an episode of “Jimmy Neutron,” or perhaps a cocktail-ified version of a 1950s-era decorated Jell-O mold. But this drink is a lot more than just the aesthetics. So we tapped managing partner Philip Dizard and bar director Bowen Kirwood to let us in on the inspiration behind this drink and how it got its complex flavors and stunning look.

Tin’s is a three-story, multi-concept space — encompassing both a cocktail bar and diner area that will serve up dumplings and other small bites. The place combines partner Mercury Tin’s Shanghainese roots and Dizard’s love of New York City’s dining culture, and this comes across in every aspect of the food and beverage menu, from the techniques used to the inclusion of ingredients like Chinese teas and Shaoxing wine. For this particular cocktail, the concept began with an interest in combining the flavors of Rémy Martin VSOP Cognac and oolong osmanthus tea in a frozen format.

With this as the base, Dizard and Kirwood wanted to add some more floral, herbaceous elements to really emphasize the aromatic lift of the drink. Dizard also recalls that after visiting Tokyo’s Tender Bar in 2025, he “left reinvigorated by cocktails that embraced bold colors, a counterpoint to today’s style of seemingly endless clarification.” He adds that “the combination of Midori and Giffard Blue Curaçao lifted the green tea and osmanthus, bringing the ingredients into balance, while producing the aquamarine color.”

When it comes to the creamy top layer that holds up the drink’s crowning red cherry, they decided to go with salted mascarpone, dispensed from an iSi whipper for that foamy, cloud-like effect. “The use of the mascarpone cloud was a nod to Heytea and the expansion of mainland Chinese tea and fruit drink brands in NYC,” Dizard says. “Mascarpone provides the exact level of salt and consistency we wanted when dispensed from an iSi.” The team is also developing a dairy-free version made with vegan cream cheese and heavy cream — using a technique Kirwood learned during his time at Eleven Madison Park — so everyone can experience Timmy’s Brain Blaster.

The drink comes together in a frosty package of bright fruit flavor, perfectly complemented by the salty bite of mascarpone fluff. Though the ingredient list — Rémy Martin VSOP Cognac, Midori, Blue Curaçao, osmanthus oolong tea, vanilla, and lemon juice — reads like a dessert cocktail, the result is surprisingly refreshing and not overly saccharine in any way. Rather than dessert, most guests so far at Tin’s have ordered the drink to start the night, compelled by its eccentric appearance. For those interested in just a taste, the bar also offers a smaller, shot-sized version called “Tiny Tim” at a lower price point.

So, how did the team land on a name for the drink seemingly unrelated to its ingredients or inspiration? Timmy’s Brain Blaster earned its moniker from an incident that occurred the day the team was testing recipes for the bar. Dizard’s brother Tim was in an accident and fractured his skull, and when Dizard went to visit him in the hospital, he said he felt like he had a brain freeze that just wouldn’t go away. Dizard took this as a sign to create a frozen cocktail with flavors and textures that make it so light and crushable that guests would want to drink it unnaturally fast and end up with a brain freeze. “Timmy is almost fully recovered from his accident and loves his eponymous cocktail,” the team reassures us.

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