Rachel Marwedel
Website Manager
Each Monday, I gather my roommates and taste-test two mocktails. Here’s how this week’s went:
Jungle Cooler
Not Jungle-cool. Not even normal cool.
Crushed Ice
4 parts pineapple juice
2 parts fresh orange juice
1 part passion fruit squash or cordial
1 part coconut milk
(optional) Slice of pineapple, to garnish
Place a scoop of crushed ice in a cocktail shaker and add the pineapple, orange, and passion fruit juices along with the coconut milk. Shake well and strain into a tall glass. Garnish with a slice of pineapple and serve.
This recipe comes from Mocktails by David Biggs. This came together quite easily – I mixed my juices, coconut milk, and passion fruit pulp (I couldn’t find cordial) together in a cocktail shaker, then strained. I was able to find my passion fruit pulp at my local Asian ethnic grocery store. If that’s not in your area, I know many Mexican grocery stores also carry it. Passion fruit seeds are edible, but I’d recommend straining them out for this drink.
I hate hate HATE coconut milk. Nasty. Disgusting. Revolting. The most loathsome liquid to exist on this planet. And yet, it mixed surprisingly well with this drink. The pineapple juice overemphasized the bitter side of the orange juice, with the passion fruit and coconut milk filling in gaps in the flavor. Give it a go if you’re looking for a wake-up drink and orange juice with tonic water wasn’t your jam. Otherwise, I’d pass on this.
Rating: 2/3
Island Romance
Island Romance
The essence of sunscreen
1 slice fresh, ripe honeydew melon
Crushed ice
Equal quantity of coconut milk
Juice of 1 large orange
Equal quantity of mango juice
1 tbsp of whipped cream
Peel and cut the melon into chunks. Place the pieces in a blender with a scoop of crushed ice and blend to a puree. Place this carefully into a champagne flute, filling it to about one third. Now float the coconut milk on top of it, followed by the orange and mango juices, trying to keep them separate (not essential, but it’s fun to try!). Top with whipped cream and serve.
This recipe also comes from Mocktails, and I’ll be honest – as I was typing up the recipe, I realized I followed it about as exactly as the drunk drivers in Boise follow the road (every day I fear for my life). I blended the melon with the juices (wrong), mixed it with coconut milk (wrong again) and skipped the whipped cream (triple bogey). I’d take this review with a grain of salt. Except, don’t actually add salt. That’s for margaritas.
Ahhh… the sun. The sand. The waves. The sticky feeling of creamy sunscreen being spread across your back as its distinctive odor lingers in the air. That strong top note of melon with a foundational creaminess and a bit of acidity – basically, this drink tastes the way sunscreen smells. Look, it’s as close to summer as you’re going to get for a few months.
Rating: 2/3
Photos by Rachel Marwedel.