Pistachio Cocktail with Bourbon

• June 21, 2017
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Even though for many, hopping on the healthy bandwagon again this summer includes some serious cocktail tweaking, kale infusions and just plan sketchy substitutions (like orange liqueur subbed with soda water, which we won’t even stress to discuss), making low-calorie cocktails is just not our thing. And while we are hopeless romantics, believing that cocktails should have a fair amount of booze, and yes some sugar, we love the idea of using super foods, such as pistachios, as a cocktail ingredient.

Maybe it was because pistachio cocktails don’t appear on menus often, maybe it’s the fact that the shelled nut is our favorite snack in between photo shoots, or maybe it’s just that we haven’t used this super-duper pistachio liqueur we got a couple of months ago, but Mikey and I went nuts over this cocktail and are very excited to share this recipe with you.

As the star of the show of course, pistachio played a central role in creating this cocktail.  But deciding on alcohol base for the drink was tricky – after a few rather unsuccessful attempts, we landed on a mixture of bourbon and our favorite dark rum (Zaya Reserva). (Combining two or more types of base alcohol in one cocktail is a technique we learned from Death and Co’s book Modern Classic Cocktails – a must have read for professional bartenders and cocktail enthusiasts by the way)

A grab bag of flavors, the base mixture gave this drink a very complex, boozy taste and delicate and floral aroma. At the same time, the dark rum density in combination with the last fresh mandarin we could find this season, contributed to the unique mouth feel of the cocktail.

Even though it is fairly boozy, this drink is surprisingly refreshing, perfect for all super food aficionados that want to try something unusual (and boozy) this summer. Another bar quality cocktail you can make at home.

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Pistachio Cocktail with Bourbon

Ingredients

• 1.25 oz Maker's Mark
• 0.50 oz Zaya 12 Year Gran Reserva Rum
• 0.50 oz Fresh Mandarin Juice
• 0.75 oz Dumante Verdenoce Liqueur
• 3-4 Roasted Pistachios (for garnish)

Instructions

1. Pour all ingredients, except the roasted pistachios, in a tin shaker

2. Add ice and shake vigorously for 10-15 seconds

3. Strain into a single old fashioned glass over a big ice cube

4. Peel a large mandarin zest and squeeze the juice out of the peel over the glass. Drop the zest in the drink with a few roasted pistachios on top

Recipe Notes

Pistachio Cordial 

If you have hard time finding the Dumante pistachio liqueur or are reluctant to spend the money to get it, then try this homemade pistachio cordial we made a few mouths back. It is a great substitution for the liqueur in this cocktail and a fantastic sweetener to add to any dessert cocktail or a cup of coffee in the morning. 

What super foods would you like to drink? Let us know in the comment section below and we might just make a cocktail with it!