Any cocktail with crème de banana used to get the side-eye from me, but I think I’m starting to come around. This is not obnoxiously banana flavored. It’s fairly smooth, and smells more like banana than it tastes.
When I saw this recipe in the book I was amazed to discover that I had all of the juices needed for it in the house already. SO MANY JUICES. The almond extract gives it a nice fragrance, and the assortment of juices ends up blending into a non-specific “tropical” flavor. This, like a lot of tiki drinks, is very easy to drink and will probably get you very drunk very quickly if you don’t watch out.
I also learned a bit about the drink’s namesake, Lapu Lapu. Who knew that making cocktails could also teach you about history?
Since it’s the middle of winter, let’s have a tiki drink to remind us of the summer! This is one of my all-time favorites from Midnight Cowboy. I believe it was on one of their first menus. I’ve been working to replicate it properly for a while now, and I’m almost there. I think I added just a leeeeetle too much lemon this time. I had two lemons that were getting a bit old so I decided to use up both, and probably could have done with just one.
My mint plant is a little cold right now but still gave up a few tiny sprigs for the garnish here. The glass came from Texas Tiki Week this past year. (I’ve also got a pair from 2013, and will likely continue to grow the collection.) The vanilla brown sugar syrup is pretty fun to make: I cut open a vanilla bean and let it boil with the sugar and water. Mmm, vanilla.
I cannot for the life of me find a bottle of Lemonhart 151 in Texas. One time last year while visiting Atlanta I saw a bottle, covered in dust and on the back of a shelf, and I almost bought it to take home. Dane said it’d be too much hassle so I left it there and now I regret it. My understanding is that it’s a much smoother liquor than your typical 151 rum. One day I will find a bottle.
