Four libations that will whisk you away to your dream destination
Globetrotting may be difficult these days, but with a few simple cocktail ingredients and a shake or a stir, you can create that holiday sensation without leaving the comforts of home. Whether it’s a European retreat you’re hankering for or a tropical getaway brimming with sun, sand, and surf, these four recipes — each featuring a different hero spirit — will whisk you away to your dream travel destination, just for a little while.
DEATH IN THE AFTERNOON: PARIS
This simple and potent elixir will transport you to the Rive Gauche in the French capital, where its creator, novelist Ernest Hemingway, whiled away many hours sipping absinthe by the Seine. Known as la fée verte (“the Green Fairy”), the anise-flavored liquor was believed to be a hallucinogen, and inspired many great works of art and literature. Take Hemingway’s advice and “drink three to five of these slowly” and you’ll be inspired to conjure up the Left Bank in your own living room.
Ingredients
Chilled champagne
Absinthe
Method
1. Pour absinthe into a coupe.
2. Slowly add chilled champagne until the color becomes opalescent.
MARGARITA: RIVIERA MAYA
Nothing tastes like a summertime retreat like a frosty margarita. There are many stories of how this refreshing drink came to be, but what really matters is how inseparable it’s become from the sunny shores of Mexico’s Riviera Maya. Sweet, zingy, and with a bit of a salty edge, these refreshing cocktails are perfect for chasing away the no-holiday blues. For a guaranteed good time, shake up a large batch for a group and serve bracingly cold.
Ingredients
Salt
Fresh lime juice and lime wedges
Tequila
Triple Sec
Method
1. Rub a lime wedge along the rim of a glass, then dip the rim in salt.
2. Add ice, tequila, lime juice, and triple sec to a cocktail shaker and shake until it feels cold on the outside.
3. Strain into a glass filled with fresh ice and garnish with a lime wedge.
WHISKY HIGHBALL: TOKYO
Japan’s capital is home to some of the finest bars in the world, and almost each one has its own take on the whisky highball. Simple but sophisticated, this drink is all about meticulous attention to detail, from the choice of whisky (preferably Japanese) to the way it’s stirred (gently, to prevent the gas from dissipating) and choice of glassware (the thinner, the better). The best watering holes in Ginza serve their highballs with hand-carved ice, but regular ice cubes work, too, if you’re making this at home.
Ingredients
Whisky
Club soda
Ice
Method
1. Fill a highball glass with ice.
2. Add whisky to glass and stir slowly in a single direction.
3. Top with soda. Stir slowly in one direction until just incorporated.
PIÑA COLADA: SAN JUAN
The national cocktail of Puerto Rico, the piña colada blends the flavors of a beachside vacation and turns it into a deliciously smooth, frothy milkshake-like concoction. There are many variations of this tropical beverage, but the recipe listed below is the original, taken from the Caribe Hilton in San Juan, where the drink was created. As the recipe states – be sure to use white rum, as dark rum will overshadow the coconut and pineapple.
Ingredients
White rum
Coconut cream
Heavy cream
Fresh pineapple juice
Crushed ice
Garnish: pineapple wedges and maraschino cherries
Method
1. Mix all ingredients except ice and garnish in blender.
2. Add ice and blend for 15 seconds.
3. Serve in glass with fresh pineapple wedge and maraschino cherry.
