It’s still a bazillion degrees outside and I wanted something sweet and refreshing so I mixed up this Mango Tropical Sipper. It’s an easy cocktail to put together and would be fabulous batched up to take down to the pool or beach. I’m assuming you’re the only ones there and you’re safely social distancing.
Let’s talk flavors. I wanted to build this cocktail with bourbon, but I also was in the mood for a bright yellow cocktail. Using bourbon muted the color a bit, but putting a white rum in solved that problem. I also tested it with silver tequila. Both are wonderful.
This flavor combination focuses on the juices and flavors blending together rather than the base spirit so you can really “choose your own adventure” with this cocktail to select a base spirit you love. Gin is a little harder to match for this one – its floral notes can have an identity crisis in the middle of all the fruity tropical flavors. But if you get it to work, tell me the gin you used!
I always associate mangos with saffron, probably because a love a great mango lassi. I used 1821’s tart cherry-saffron bitters to give that hint of saffron without overloading the cocktail with Fernet Branca.
For a garnish, I put a couple of basil leaves in the glass and as a sprig on the top to make sure you get a hint of those basil aromatics without overwhelming the balance of fruit juices and spices from the liqueurs.
In all this mango tropical sipper turned out to be just what I needed on a late Friday afternoon – sweet, juicy, a little complex, and something I can sip on without feeling guilty about having two. I do have to drink all the test cocktails after all.
If you like fruit forward cocktails, take a look at Hot as Pop Outside Peach Popsicle Sipper, or this Pineapple Peach Smash.
Mango-nificent Mango Tropical Sipper
Ingredients
- 3 oz mango nectar
- 1.5 oz silver tequila white rum or bourbon
- 1 oz lime juice
- 0.5 oz vanilla simple syrup
- 0.5 oz St Elizabeth’s Allspice Dram
- 12 drops 1821 Tart Cherry Saffron bitters
- Garnish: basil leaves and chili lime salt
Instructions
- Rim the outside of a tall glass with chili lime salt and set aside. Combine juices, spirits, simple syrup and bitters in a cocktail shaker and fill with ice. Shake until the shaker is too cold to hold. Strain into a tall glass filled with fresh ice with a basil leaf or two in among the cubes. Top with a long straw and a sprig of fresh basil. Include a brief sprinkle of chili lime salt on top if you like.
