Wanted to make a cocktail inspired by a side salad made with cilantro, ripe mangoes, and tomato. Chopped up some cilantro, sous vide in vodka at 55°c for 2 hours. Blended some tomato with a pinch of salt. Frozen then thawed to get tomato water. Mixed in malic and citric acid to make tomato acid (3% acidity from added acids). Bought unsweetened mango puree. Clarified this with pectinase (though I've read these are most likely pasteurized, so agar might've been the right move here). Added sugar equivalent to 10% of clarified juice weight. For the build, went with 45mL cilantro vodka, 30mL mango cordial, 15mL bianco vermouth, 7.5mL tomato acid. I can't taste the mango at all. People say the mango comes in the aftertaste but most of them say they don't like the cocktail as a whole. Hahaha. I get not a lot of people like cilantro but I was hoping it would be balanced enough to taste good. Any suggestions to improve on this?

Hi! I want to make something with raw mangoes but I'm not sure how to do it. There would be significantly less juice compared to ripe mangoes, so I'm not sure blending is the way to go. Has anyone tried making a cheong with raw mangoes? How about an oleo saccharum? Initial idea is to play around with the daquiri template but I'd also want it to have a savory kick. Anyway, that's a long way from now. Would appreciate your comments!

I like fizzy drinks, so I tried making a carbonated pina colada. I fatwashed Planteray 3 Star and OFTD with coconut oil and the curds ("latik" in Filipino) with a 1:4 ratio. I decided to include the curds in the fatwash since just using the oil didn't give a strong enough flavor. Clarified pineapple juice with agar. Made a cordial with around 25% total sugar content. 0.75oz Coco fatwashed 3 star 0.25oz Coco fatwashed OFTD 2oz Clarified Pineapple juice 2oz Coconut water 0.5oz Lime 5 drops 20% Saline co2 (50psi, 3x charge, 30-45mins in between each charge) I feel like this was too sweet a drink but my friends said they like it. Might try with less cordial in the future. Also planning to float a coconut cream foam if I ever figure out how to make it.

Right now, I'm learning mostly by reverse-engineering cocktails that I like. I do it by taste then I try to ask for the specs from the bar. But, I've also made whiskey and amaretto sour, and grasshopper. Trying to explore more classics. It's so expensive though. So, learning isn't exactly easy (at least financially). I was thinking maybe learn one family of cocktails at a time. But, even then, it's such a big investment. How did you guys get through the learning phase while keeping your financial health intact? Lmao

Recipe found in Clapham Cocktails The Chartreuse Cocktail Book 📕 cocktail created by Craig Eliason The combination of ingredients caught my eye, green chartreuse and Ancho Reyes Verde 🤔 I doubled the rye by using an aquavit that utilizes rye spirit as its base providing a bit more. The mixture has layers of spices, black peppercorn, poblano peppers, rye, caraway, rosemary, sage, cacao, dill, peppermint, golden syrup. The finish is medium with the spices dancing harmoniously. 😋 The glass was refilled before the ice all melted and will be made again. Calexico 1 oz (30ml) Aquavit ¾ oz (22.5ml) Rye Whisk(e)y ¾ oz (22.5ml) Green Chartreuse ½ oz (15ml) Ancho Reyes Verde 2 dashes Mole Bitters Lemon Twist