Globetrotting chef Azmin Ghahreman was born in Iran, raised in Switzerland and went to school in Russia. He’s also worked at branches of Four Seasons the world over and tasted “exotic cocktails from Thailand to Bali to Hawaii” before settling in as longtime Executive Chef of the St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort in Dana Point. In early 2007, he opened Sapphire Laguna in a 75-year-old pottery shop, applying his global influences to his food and to his bar. Over Labor Day weekend, we sat down to discuss his culinary approach to cocktails.

Joshua Lurie: How did you become so interested in cocktails?

Azmin Ghahreman: In 1980, I took a bartending class as a chef to understand mixology and to understand the whole roots behind cocktails. In this kind of restaurateur lifestyle, is a big component. That’s why I have a vast knowledge of how items are made, including tequila, bourbon, beer, wine. Having that knowledge, I use it to have more fun with cocktails.

JL: What’s your first cocktail memory?

AG: Probably straight vodka. I was born in Iran, raised in Switzerland and went to boarding school in Russia…I’d drink straight vodka, and then my father was the creator of marinating berries in vodka, different herbs. He would get wild spearmint from the gypsies who would come and sell them. Then he would make his own mint liquor at home…I make my own syrups. We make our own sweet and sour mix, our own ginger water, our own flavored sugars for the rims, cayenne sugar, lemon sugar. We make plum puree for our plum punch, so it’s a lot of those actions going on.

JL: How often does your cocktail list change and what does it depend upon?

AG: It depends upon what we’re in the mood for. For instance, later this month I’m going to be changing some of our cocktails to a Caribbean inspired menu. I’ll be a guest chef on Crystal Cruise going through the Caribbean from New York to Miami, so I will offer a reflection on it. A lot of our food comes from available products at the market…Usually they bring a bar into the kitchen. I’m the opposite. I bring the kitchen into the bar. We use honey syrup, syrups we make ourselves from lemongrass and lime to Buddha’s hand. What that does; that enhances the flavor. Two, three times a year we change depending on what’s at the market and what’s a better match for our food.

JL: What was your approach with your current cocktail menu?

AG: Everything is about preserving and taking care of flavors and the truth of the flavors. We don’t mess with it too much. Same with the cuisine. That’s how we do things.

JL: What’s one Caribbean inspired cocktail you’re working on, and what’s your approach?

AG: One of them is inspired by tamarind syrup. I make my own spiced rum with home grown bay leaf, ginger and a little cinnamon. When you drink it, it’s sweet, sour and spicy. It’s so refreshing on a hot day. The warning signs are printed on the label. Two maximum. You’re gonna feel it.

JL: Do you have a favorite spirit or liqueur to work with these days?

AG: Just like a chef, I respect all the ingredients, love all the ingredients. Probably clear spirits are the easiest to work with, rather than dark spirits such as bourbon, rum or scotch. That pushes you to vodka. We have 34 different vodkas on our shelves, from potato vodka to grape seed vodka. We have a martini called Sonoma Sunset. The inspiration behind it has more than anything to do with wine, so we have a grape seed vodka and a Chardonnay reduction with sugar and syrup. You have a total twist on the area, and it works better with vodka. I take vodka and I flavor it with mint myself and I made a Noletini in honor of Ketel One owner Carolus Nolet. We put mint in it, spiced it up, and I used green tea liquor. When you taste it, it’s so smooth, so perfect.

JL: Do you have any cocktail mentors?

AG: Myself, but I respect everyone’s palate. I know exactly what each liquor smells and tastes like…Many years ago I used to manage a restaurant and nightclub in Northern California and I got to understand exactly what people want, on a hot day, on a cold day, but we are not about rum and Cokes and vodka tonics here. We are more about hand-crafted cocktails that people enjoy.

JL: Are there any other places that you like to drink cocktails in Orange County?

AG: Across the street they have a rooftop that’s a popular bar, gorgeous sunsets, good for a margarita. I like a good margarita.

JL: What’s a great simple cocktail for people to make at home, and how do you make it?

AG: The best thing you can make it home is an exotic mojito. Get a good rum, fresh lime, put your lime and your sugar in a mortar with fresh mint. You can add flavors like lychee, passion fruit, peach. You can make it very refreshing.

JL: What ratio on the mojito, which rum and how much?

AG: I would say clear rum without suggesting a brand. About 4-5 wedges of lime squeezed, 3-4 cubes of white sugar crushed together in a mortar. Maybe a good half-dozen to eight mint leaves, torn, so the oil and smell of the mint comes out. Always shake your cocktails. It emulsifies and gives you better, well-rounded flavors. The first thing you want to hit on the palate is well-rounded flavor, not a straight shot of liquor. That turns you off.

JL: How many ounces of rum do you suggest?

AG: I always use a jigger here. For one good one, an ounce and a half to two. Then you can put two ounces of lychee puree and the rest I’d put soda water.

JL: If you could only drink one more cocktail, what would it be?

AG: I love a Greyhound. Good grapefruit juice, straightforward. I try not to make it so sweet. I prefer acidic. Alcohol and sugar brings down the density of your blood anyway. A mojito would also be very refreshing.

Here are two of Azmin Ghahreman’s cocktails:

Buddha Margarita ($15) with Patron Silver, Buddha Hand Lemon Confit, Fresh Lime and Cointreau

Sans Permis ($12) with lavender infused honey, Cointreau and Cava