

"Axel? Please. The name's Lea. Got it memorized?" - Lea in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance
Inspiration
Lea, the human form of Axel, brings a new perspective to the fiery Nobody we know and love from Kingdom Hearts. While I haven’t encountered Lea in my playthroughs yet, I thought it’d be a fun challenge to create mocktails for the “Somebodies” of these prominent Nobodies. Inspired by Axel’s cocktail, Lea’s mocktail features a torched chakram-like garnish reminiscent of his iconic weapons, paired with a bubbly, non-alcoholic blend of honey, lemon, and cinnamon.
Workshopping
Lea Tea?
I did a quick dive into the history of Lea and his friendship with Isa (which evidently gets explored in greater detail in Kingdom Hearts III!) The same vibes I got for Axel’s drink applied here to Lea’s liquid embodiment as well. As such, I didn’t deviate very far from the cinnamon, honey, and lemon combination of flavors that resonated with me for Axel’s cocktail.
I initially did a mix of cinnamon syrup, and lemon-infused honey and then topped it with soda water. It was a pretty solid combination, similar to the cocktail but without alcohol involved. The drink was tasty, and I took one of the chakram garnishes that hadn’t been dehydrated yet, and popped it on the rim. It looked nice but lacked that dark hue to make it look fiery (or rather burnt). I removed the garnish, sprinkled some cinnamon sugar on top of it, and then torched it. The cinnamon sugar melted, bubbled, and caramelized right on top of the lemon, and then I dropped back into my pre-Lea creation. When the brulee chakram fell in, some specks of the char came off and sank deeper into my glass as I sipped on it. As time passed, the drink got darker and tasted more toasted. I wondered if there was a means to get that charred flavor into the drink, without all the dark pieces of gook.
Cheong Brûlée
I started preparing another batch of the young cheong syrup that I developed for Axel’s cocktail but this time with one key difference. Instead of stacking seeded lemon slices, I would first sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top of each one and hit them with my torch to caramelize them. I stacked the brûléed slices in a jar and covered them in honey and let them sit for a few days.
I compared my first version of Lea, with a new version that took the burnt cinnamon sugar lemon-infused honey (again, I won’t call it cheong since I haven’t let it sit long enough, yet). Comparing the two, I enjoyed the all-together approach more than the simple combo. Whereas the original was very lemon-forward with a hint of cinnamon, the all-together method is a tad sweeter and has a lot of extra flavor complexity for only a bit more prep work.
Lea’s Torched Garnish
The chakram garnish I develop here I think can be done in two ways. Either use the dehydrated chakram (torched or otherwise) as I describe for Axel’s cocktail or use the non-dehydrated garnish version here. You can absolutely add cinnamon sugar and torch this and garnish your drink with that, but I didn’t like the dark speckles of charred matter falling into my Lea drink. Another idea is to take the cinnamon sugar as a sugar cube and douse it in a bit of lemon extract, then light it on fire! You can sprinkle extra grated cinnamon overtop to add that flurry of dancing flames flair like on the alcoholic version. The choice is yours! I got lazy so I used one of the dehydrated chakrams for the photoshoot and lit it on fire because it’s fun!
Flavor Analysis
A sweet and deep-flavored honey seltzer with subtle cinnamon and burnt caramel notes.
Lea (Axel Mocktail)
Lea (Axel Mocktail)
- 1.5 oz Cinnamon Lemon Brûlée-Infused Honey Syrup
- Top with Soda Water
Method: Build over Ice
Garnish: Dehydrated Lemon Sun Chakram
More drinks inspired by: Kingdom Hearts
Guided Recipe in 60 Seconds: YouTube
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