savour cacique | The Eleutheran Breeze
“It’s never too early for a cocktail.”
We agree with Noel Coward. It is never too early for a cocktail - especially in the balmy heat of a Bahamian summer with a cocktail that combines sweet local pineapple with freshly-squeezed lime juice and homegrown basil (plus the odd splash of gin). Indeed. That's the breakfast of rockstars and kings.
For this latest #SavourCacique experiment, we are at it again - re-imagining classics (see Re-Imagining Chicken Souse). This time we join forces with cocktail pioneer Kyle Jones of Young's Fine Wines to re-think the Gin-Gin Mule, a modern classic created by NYC cocktail influencer, Audrey Saunders.
“The original Gin-Gin Mule cocktail called for dry gin, simple syrup, fresh lime juice, ginger beer and fresh mint sprigs. It is essentially a cross of a Mint Julep and a Moscow Mule. With the Eleutheran Breeze I wanted to keep the essence of the Gin-Gin Mule but use locally inspired ingredients.”
Re-Imagining the Gin-Gin Mule
2 stalks of Cinnamon Basil
1/4 oz Simple Syrup (1:1)
Fever Tree Ginger Beer to top
Fresh Cinnamon Basil
1/2 oz Sipsmith London Dry Gin
3-4 dashes Scrappy’s Cardamom Bitters
1/2 oz Fresh Lime Juice
4 chunks of Eleutheran Pineapple
It's all about the ingredients
According to our cocktail maestro Kyle, when making a cocktail it’s vital to consider how each of your ingredients taste alone. For instance, there are hundreds of gins on the market. "I use Sipsmith Gin because of its smooth, well balanced characteristics and juniper forward nose," says Kyle. "It’s the quintessential London Dry Gin and a perfect compliment for a spicy ginger beer." For bitters Kyle won't look at anything but Scrappy’s Bitters. "Their flavors are all natural and it is the perfect touch to add dimension to a cocktail." And for the ginger beer, it has to be Fever Tree. "It tastes like you are taking a bite right out of a ginger root and has very little sugar added."
A Pineapple By Any Other Name Would Not Taste So Sweet...
As for the key ingredient and namesake - you cannot rival a ripe Eleutheran pineapple (from the island of Eleuthera). "Never will you taste a pineapple so distinctively sweet," says Kyle. Lastly, for the fresh cinnamon basil, we reached out to Antonio Hall of Green Leaf Farms - a boutique Bahamian farm specialising in culinary herbs.
1. Start with a good ripe Eleutheran pineapple and cut that into cubes.
2. Add the pineapple, simple syrup, lime juice, cinnamon basil and bitters into a large shaking tin and begin to lightly muddle (see note on "muddling" below).
3. Add your gin and fill the shaker up with ice.
4. Shake all of the ingredients together until it is incorporated and cold.
5. Fill your chosen glassware to the top with crushed ice. "I prefer to double strain my cocktail at this point so no chunks will go into my mouth when trying to drink. You can use your Hawthorne strainer, which is a fancy name for your cocktail strainer, and pour your cocktail through a fine mesh strainer and into your cocktail glass."
6. Top with Fever Tree Ginger beer and stir.
7. Garnish with pineapple segment and basil sprig and enjoy!
a note on muddling
“ When people see muddling in a cocktail they think they need to go in aggressively and destroy the citrus and herbs, when in fact it is always best to just lightly press them so that only the oils are being released. The harder you muddle, the more bits and pieces will break off and go into you drink. ”
The Eleutheran Breeze : A re-imagined Gin-Gin Mule using local ingredients - fresh Bahamian pineapple, cinnamon basil & lime juice.
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