Hi, Friends of Cocktails! Today we’re making 8 cocktails from the most popular fruit, bananas… well, the 2nd most popular if we’re not counting tomatoes. We’ll make them with Banana Syrup, Banana Liqueur, and of course, fresh bananas. Shaken, stirred, blended and built, we’ll cover it all, so you’ll have a banana cocktail suited for every occasion.
This is the third multi-cocktail episode, after 10 Citruscello and 8 Strawberry Cocktails, so make sure to check those out as well if you want more inspiration for cocktails after this. Enough talk, we have 8 cocktails to make, starting with a Banana Irish Espresso Stoutini. It’s Banana Cocktail Time!
Banana Espresso Stoutini
● 45mL · 1.5oz Jameson Black Barrel
● 15mL · 0.5oz Banana Liqueur
● 15mL · 0.5oz Stout Syrup
● 1 shot Espresso
● 2 dashes Chocolate Bitters
● 3 drops 20% Saline Solution
Into a chilled shaker add the ingredients, plenty of ice and shake hard to really chill, dilute and aerate the drink. We’ll double strain this into a chilled coupe glass to get a nice view of the beautiful foam on top. With that, you are ready to enjoy the cocktail, as the cascading foam will be our garnish. Beautiful!
You’ll get plenty of chocolate, coffee, and banana with this one, but now let’s move onto a stirred cocktail with a tropical twist. Let’s make the Banana Manhattan!
Banana Manhattan
● 45mL · 1.5oz Four Roses Single Barrel
● 15mL · 0.5oz Banana Liqueur
● 15mL · 0.5oz Sweet Vermouth
● 2 dashes Angostura Bitters
● 2 drops 20% Saline Solution
● Caramelized Banana Garnish
We’ll prepare the garnish for this cocktail first, so start by covering a slice of banana with sugar and use a small torch to caramelize the sugar. Make sure nobody touches it while it's hot, so leave it in a safe place to chill while you make the cocktail. For this, just add the ingredients into a chilled mixing glass, followed by ice. Now stir well to mix, chill and dilute. Strain into a chilled coupe glass, and add the garnish on a cocktail pick.
This is still a spirit-forward Manhattan, with subtle spice and banana. But with a shaken and stirred cocktail done, what’s next? Blended, of course. Let’s make a frozen Banana Daiquiri.
Frozen Banana Daiquiri
● 90mL · 3oz Havana Club 3
● 60mL · 2oz Banana Liqueur
● 30mL · 1oz Lime Juice
● 4 drops 20% Saline Solution
● 360g Pebble or Crushed Ice
● Grated Nutmeg Garnish
So into the blender I’m adding the rum, Banana Liqueur, lime juice, saline solution and the ice. Blend this until you get a nice slushy consistency, then pour it into a frozen coupe glass. Last step is to grate a pinch of nutmeg on top for some aroma, and that’s all you need for a delicious glass of a sour, banana-and-rum frozen goodness.
But since we made one variation of a Daiquiri I’ll show you another one while we’re at it. This is the Nuclear Banana Daiquiri.
Nuclear Banana Daiquiri
● 30mL · 1oz Banana Liqueur
● 22.5mL · 0.75oz Wray & Nephew Overproof Rum
● 22.5mL · 0.75oz Yellow Chartreuse
● 22.5mL · 0.75oz Falernum
● 22.5mL · 0.75oz Lime Juice
● 2 drops 20% Saline Solution
We’ll add everything into a chilled shaker, then it’s time to add ice and shake it hard to chill and dilute. Double strain into a chilled coupe glass and that’s it. This is a herbal, spicy and sweet variation of the Daiquiri that you won’t want to miss.
With 4 down and 4 to go, let’s turn to a recipe I found on punchdrink.com - a great resource for recipes, techniques and news from the bar industry. Let’s make a cocktail created by Rob Krueger called “Iz Bananaz”.
Iz Bananaz
● 45mL · 1.5oz Cachaca
● 30mL · 1oz Amaro Montenegro
● 22.5mL · 0.75oz Banana Liqueur
● 22.5mL · 0.75oz Lemon Juicee
● 1 dash Angostura Bitters
● 2 drops 20% Saline Solution
Just like with previous shaken cocktails, add the ingredients into a chilled shaker along with plenty of ice. Now shake to get the cocktail well chilled and diluted. Strain into a highball glass filled with crushed or pebble ice, and for garnish let’s add an orange peel twist. Tropical, bitter, and fruity, but next up, a banana twist on the king of whiskey cocktails.
Let’s make a Banana Whiskey Sour using banana oleo saccharum! I made this ingredient by covering organic banana peels with the same amount of sugar by weight and leaving to sit until it turns into a delicious, banana-flavored syrup.
Banana Whiskey Sour
● 60mL · 2oz Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel
● 22.5mL · 0.75oz Lemon Juice
● 22.5mL · 0.75oz Banana Oleo Saccharum
● 2 drops 20% Saline Solution
● Skewered Banana Garnish
Start by chilling the shaker, then add the ingredients. Now add plenty of ice, shake, and strain the cocktail. This is sour, so let’s serve it in a lowball glass over a tempered clear ice sphere. For garnish I’m going with a simple skewered piece of banana. It’s rich and balanced with subtle banana fruitiness.
I’d say now it’s time for something a bit lighter that we can build straight in the glass. Let’s make a Whiskey Banana Collins.
Banana Collins
● 60mL · 2oz Aberlour 12
● 15mL · 0.5oz Banana Oleo Saccharum
● 15mL · 0.5oz Lemon Juice
● 100g Carbonated Coconut Water
● Banana Slice Garnish
We’re building this straight into a highball glass over a clear ice spear, keeping the carbonated coconut water for last. There’s no saline this time because the coconut water already has some salt in it, so all that’s left is to gently mix the drink with a barspoon and add the garnish. You could also carbonate the whole cocktail with the Twist&Sparkle too, but you’d need to make a big batch to fill the whole bottle.
This drink is light, funky, and refreshing, so maybe it’s better suited for Summer or Christmas time around the southern hemisphere. As it’s getting colder in other parts though, I think you’ll enjoy a true dessert cocktail, let’s make the Banana Sgroppino.
Banana Sgroppino
● 2 Ripe Bananas
● 500g Pebble or Crushed Ice
● 45mL · 1.5oz Lemon Juice
● 1 dash 20% Saline Solution
● 90g FIOL Prosecco
Start by adding everything except prosecco into a high-powered blender, then blend until you get an ice-cream like consistency. For now we just need to scoop out about two tablespoons into a mixing glass, so store this in the freezer to enjoy later. Now add 90g of prosecco to the mixing glass and stir everything together with a whisk until you get a homogenous mixture. Pour it into a frozen coupe glass and that’s it. A beautiful Banana Sgroppino!
This is rich with banana sweetness and light wine acidity. A decadent treat for sure, and with that we’ve also made it to the Bottom of The Glass of this banana-filled episode… but did you know that these were all actually berry cocktails? As pointed out by McGill.ca, berry is a botanical term, and according to botanists, Blackberries, strawberries, and raspberries are not berries at all, but bananas, pumpkins, tomatoes and cucumbers are.
Basically, a berry has seeds and pulp that develop from the ovary of a flower. Which is what happens with bananas, but not with strawberries, for example - strange, right? Until next time, cheers, Friends of Cocktails.