King Kate

This is a recipe that I think I will be tweaking for a while to come. I set out to recreate the flavour of a cocktail called King Yellowman's Answer, made by my former boss and excellent cocktail bartender Kate. We would begin by roasting pineapple chunks with honey and cinnamon until they were falling apart and caramelising into a wonderful, dark golden, spiced tray of heavenly aromas. We would then purée pears and add to the fruit mix. When all of the prep was done, we would take a generous amount of Blackwell's rum, some lime juice, a blend of the pineapple and pear purée and a dash of espresso. This was shaken for a minute, strained over fresh ice, and served with a special side ingredient: a scotch bonnet pepper filled with overproof rum, which we would light on fire whilst explaining to the customer that the longer they left it burning, the more chilli would infuse into the rum. The idea was that they would blow it out when ready, then tip some in, adjusting the spice level as they saw fit.

I haven't tried to recreate the flaming chilli garnish for this recipe, as i'm not a total sadist, but feel free to try it and let me know how it works out. I have, however, come pretty damn close to the delicious flavour of the drink that inspired me. It is a complex flavour that needs three to four weeks to fully come together and calm down, as there is a lot going on here.

Pineapple is the main note here, with a back note of pear, mostly caught on the exhale. The coffee is present throughout, and brings a dark roasted muskiness to the whole affair. Cinnamon is also a prominent note on the exhale, bringing some spicy warmth and complementing both the fruit and the coffee.

I'm quite happy with this one, and am proud to release it as my first wholly unique recipe. I hope you enjoy!

In my next iteration I will probably up the honey and the rum, as they aren't as prominent as I would like.