February is a tough month to be a cocktail lover. The last of the winter citrus is quickly disappearing from store shelves, and it’s awhile until the new spring crop. You can certainly find fruits grown around the world, but they’re just not the same as ripe local produce.
While you could stick to all-alcohol drinks—like Manhattans, Negronis and Martinis—we have another idea: dried fruit.
You can now buy a range of dehydrated fruits, which you can use to infuse an array of spirits, from vodka to bourbon. (The process is incredibly easy and your concoction only needs to rest for about a day.) But before you start experimenting, we suggest you try these two recipes from top bartender and Liquor.com advisory board member Aisha Sharpe.
Her delicious Mango Brava Daiquiri (pictured above) is a blast of sunshine and calls for flavoring Caña Brava Rum (co-created by Liquor.com advisory board members Simon Ford and Dushan Zaric) with dried mango slices. It’s so good, you may want to make it year-round.
We also recommend you fix her Beefeater Gin-based Peach Collins that includes a simple syrup flavored with, you guessed it, dried peaches. After you master these tipples, you can spend the rest of the winter working on your own formulas. Cheers!
I really respect all of the bar people in these articles. Dale, Dave , Gaz, and all the greatest to have graced tge wonderful world of cocktails. I personally have been behind the stick for 17 years and in those 17 years I have become quite the inovative bartender. I don’t lice in LA, New York, Chicago, Or any other large city but I can make you a unique cocktail and share a vast knowledge of life behind the stick! I’m from little Morehead City N.C. one of the most beautiful coastal towns in the east coast US. Should you get this way stop by the Arendell Room and we can have a cocktail!
Thanks for the kind words. We’ll absolutely look you up if we’re in that neck of the woods!