My dear readers….here we are in the middle of Summer and I can’t believe how fast the days are flying by.
Is it just me?
The Captain and I were sitting on the lanai and sipping a new drink that I had made just for this post.
He is such a good sport in really digging in and tasting for me.
OK, it doesn’t take much persuasion on my part to get him to try a new drink concoction…in fact when I was making it, he kept leaning over my shoulder saying …”does anything need tasting?”
And this drink is really good tasting and even I, one who is more of a taster than drinker, was lapping up this drink like a puppy dog drinking from the hose on a hot day.
This particular drink really makes one think of a tropical island breeze, and if you close your eyes, you can almost feel the saltwater lapping at your toes.
Easy for me to say huh?…as I sit on my South West Florida lanai.
Strangely, this drink also reminds me of years gone by when I, in my younger years, loved Sno-Cones.
Later, my children would equate my sno-cones with their favorite slurpees at the corner 7-11….but in my day, in the Mid-West…the paper cone with the large scoop of crushed ice and a wonderfully sweet cherry, grape or pineapple syrup made my hot summer day seem like I was transported to somewhere far, far away.
I didn’t even mind when the thick, sticky syrup leaked out of the paper cone’s bottom tip…. or when it oozed over the thin fragile paper top… depending on how hard I clutched the cone… and trickling down my wrist and arm as the ice quickly melted in the searing hot Kansas wind.
And now, this wonderful light, sorta Piña Colada tasting, finely crushed, icy concoction reminds me of…
…..a sno-cone, and a rather delicious sno-cone at that. It is made with pineapple juice, lime juice, bitters and coconut syrup, topped off with a bit of rum which gives it a tropical flavor. And a sprinkling of ground cinnamon and sprig of fresh mint are perfect for that tropical island feel.
I have a confession….You see, I really love going to any of our favorite restaurants on the water, and ordering the drink of the day.
I don’t care what the drink is, as it is usually made with tropical juices such as mango, papaya, pineapple, strawberry or oranges and the drink itself is…well, it is just pretty, AND I am a sucker for those little foo-foo drinks with umbrellas and a maraschino cherry perched on top of a tall pilsner glasses.
Now, I do have to admit that I rarely finish the drink in the pretty shaped glasses.
But I do drink a bit of it and then hand the drink over to whomever in our party wants to finish it…and this is usually the Captain.
Isn’t he wonderful to sacrifice himself that way?
What a guy!
As I did a little research on this icy new drink I was making, I found that it has actually been around a while. The first time we drank this was at a friends house just before we went out to dinner…and I really liked the tropical flavors.
There are several versions of it, with or without the bitters….and no, the over-sized label on the bitters bottle is not a mistake in packaging with the Angostura bitters.
I don’t know what happened, but obviously quality control was taking a day off when someone in the assembly line was having a bad day, ….much like Lucy Ricardo and the chocolate factory…. and they slapped the large label on the small bottle…but whatever happened, the label laps over the top and now it is a trademark!
If you are not familiar with “bitters”…simply said it is like cooking with spices.
More literally speaking, bitters are a liquid extraction of seeds, herbs, bark, roots, flowers, leaves and fruit of various plants. They are highly concentrated and are used by the DASH or eye dropper to flavor cocktails….and there are many types of bitters just as there are herbs.
So don’t go dumping a lot of bitters in your drinks or you will not like it….or maybe you will.
Actually, years ago pharmacists would add “bitters” to aid digestion or cleanse the body of toxins.
However, that seems like an oxymoron when I think about it…adding alcohol to the body might just need the “bitters” to get rid of the alcoholic toxins!
Sort of a toss-up huh?
Moving on….. this is the brand of coconut syrup that I used…(see below) but you can use whatever you have on hand or whichever you prefer.
I have to tell you that I was blown away by this icy drink.
And I don’t mean in a drunken stupor. I mean it really tasted good and perhaps it is because I made this drink my way.
I believe I have confessed to you before that there is one drink that I most likely will finish right down to the sugary lime dregs in the bottom of the glass and that is the South American Caipirinha that was introduced to me by my dear friends Jim and Tam!
If you would like the recipe for this drink,,,,please check out the following link:
So by now, you are probably asking for the recipe so you can at least read through it and see if you might like it …if you are not familiar with it.
And the printable recipe is below!
But I have to warn you…this will remind you of your sno-cone or slurpee days…depending on your age!
The drink is served in a glass so there is really no chance of it dripping down your wrist and arm.
That is unless you drink too many of them.
- 2 ounces white rum (I use 1 ounce)
- 3/4 of an ounce of coconut syrup (I use Torani brand)
- 1 ounce of lime juice
- 1 ounce pineapple juice (I use 2 ounces)
- 1 dash Angostura Bitters
- Sprig of fresh mint (I use peppermint because that is what I have in my herb garden)
- Cinnamon sprinkle
- In a cocktail shaker or your blender, add the rum, coconut syrup, pineapple juice, lime juice and bitters and shake or blend for about 20 ceconds.
- Chill the glass of your choice and add finely crushed ice as close to the top as possible.
- Pour as much (or as little, that is me) of the cocktail into the glass
- Garnish with a mint sprig
- Sprinkle a bit of cinnamon over the top
- Serve
- You can adjust the measurements to your own liking. Remember, that I am not much of a drinker and the lighter the rum content...the better for me. Experiment and find just the right flavors for you.
Ross says
Sounds just purfic hic!
I’ll have to keep my eyes open for the Torani sugar free brand.
Hugs from across a warm, if not hot, pond… summer has made it here too… if only for a couple of days xx
Kari says
I sometimes forget that you do not always have access to some of the brands we have here in the states and vice versa. I guess in my naive little world….we all have the same things on our grocery shelves. Let me know if you make that drink and like it. The Captain tells me my drinks are too weak and are more like lemonade or Kool-aid and I say…what is wrong with that? teehehehe!
It has been very hot here in Florida and when family was here, I found myself apologizing for the heat. They assured me that the heat in the Midwest was far hotter and more humid than ours here. 🙂 Go figure.
I am sure you are enjoying your grandbabies…..pictures please!
hugs always