The 12 Cocktails of Christmas, Day Nine: ‘The Loopy Fruit’
Recipes inspired by global craft cocktail culture, shared this holiday season by Melissa Rayworth and Ted Anthony.
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This year, in lieu of the holiday card we didn’t have time to create, we welcome you to The 12 Cocktails of Christmas — a dozen recipes and thoughts on what makes them work. We’ll continue updating the top drink each day until we’ve reached a dozen (yes, we’ll get done right after Christmas, but our schedules have been pretty crazed with new job adventures, current job obligations, two teenagers, two cats — the list, just like yours, goes on).
Hope this brings you all some holiday cheer. Please do share these recipes with your friends and family, and please take a moment this year to raise a glass — no matter what it may hold — to one another and to all the adventures and good things ahead in 2020.
Happy holidays,
THE NINTH COCKTAIL OF CHRISTMAS: ‘The Loopy Fruit’
Somewhere along the line while living in Thailand, where the scent of lemongrass is everywhere, we came to a realization (one that’s unprovable, but we’re pretty convinced): One of the operative background flavors in Froot Loops is … lemongrass.
This led us to a question: How could we capture the flavor of a childhood favorite breakfast cereal in a cocktail in a way that’s at least semi-subtle and not simply gimmicky (not that there’s anything wrong with that)?
Experimentation with various fruit liqueurs in assorted combinations eventually produced this gem, one of Melissa’s absolute favorites — and perhaps a sweet tooth’s counterbalance to yesterday’s “Everything Bagel,” which got some, shall we say, less-than-enthusiastic feedback.
We swear this one tastes like Froot Loops. The main ingredient in this is a home infusion, made easily from vodka into which we threw some lemongrass-pandan tea we bought back from Bangkok. It’s a distinctive kind of herbal tea that’s typically served alongside a hot towel whenever you get a foot massage in Bangkok, or cold in small plastic bottles from stalls outside the Bangkok transit system. It’s not that hard to find in the United States — Amazon has several varieties — but infusing a fifth of higher-proof vodka with cut-up lemongrass found in the produce aisle of your supermarket will create a passable substitute that can be mixed into all kinds of cocktails that require a distinctively tropical fruit flavor. We, however, recommend the lemongrass-pandan combination if possible.
The other fruit liqueurs are easily available. Try your own combinations for interesting variations, but we’ve found that the elderflower liqueur and the creme de violette — versatile additions to any cocktail cabinet — are as much the underpinning of this drink as the vodka infusion.
We added a splash of color to the proceedings in a predictable way — by adding actual Froot Loops as garnish.
‘THE LOOPY FRUIT’
2 oz. lemongrass/pandan infused vodka (if you must, you can use citrus vodka; the drink will still be delicious, but you’ll lose the Froot Loopy flavor)
½ oz. Pama pomegranate liqueur
½ oz. elderflower liqueur
½ oz. blood orange liqueur
½ oz. creme de violette
½ oz. simple syrup
½ oz. lemon juice, freshly squeezed
½ egg whiteDry shake. Add ice and shake again.
Serve in coupe glasses with a small piece of dried fruit (mango is good) or a lemon or lime slice and a toothpick with three to five Froot Loops of different colors threaded onto it.
WHY WE LIKED THIS ONE: Firstly, it’s light. Some concoctions, particularly wintry ones, have a pleasing syrupiness. Not so the Loopy Fruit. It has the consistency of a mall food-court Orange Julius (that’s a recommendation, not a dis) and an astringency that leavens the drink’s sweetness, keeping it in balance. That also makes it dangerous, because you don’t feel like you’re drinking anything that might be regulated by the state. The balance of fruits and florals makes this perfect for a late summer afternoon, though we certainly didn’t mind drinking it two days before Christmas. And the ability to sub ingredients in and out makes this a flexible drink; we’ll be experimenting with variations for years to come.
Previous libations in this series:
- The First Cocktail of Christmas: “Opening Day”
- The Second Cocktail of Christmas: “Afternoon Delight”
- The Third Cocktail of Christmas: “Subourbon Oasis”
- The Fourth Cocktail of Christmas: “The Phipps Conservatory”
- The Fifth Cocktail of Christmas: “The Sour Spice”
- The Sixth Cocktail of Christmas: “The Dark Horse”
- The Seventh Cocktail of Christmas: “Pop Culture Books Night”
- The Eighth Cocktail of Christmas: “The Everything Bagel”
- The entire story and collected cocktails.
The same motivation that led us to these drinks led Melissa to do these stories while we were living in Thailand. Check them out:
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©2019, Melissa Rayworth and Ted Anthony. All rights reserved.
