Author Notes
This festive cocktail, dubbed the Mele Kalikimai Tai, tastes like a seaside holiday. Stirrings Blood Orange Martini mix, fresh fruit juices, rosemary-blood orange infused rum, and a sugar-rosemary rim make a perfect holiday cocktail. It's almost as good as a Hawaiian getaway. Almost. —Mary Catherine Tee
Ingredients
- For the Rosemary-Blood Orange Infused Rum
-
1
blood orange, sliced into 1/2 inch slices
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2 sprigs
fresh rosemary
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rum
- For the Cocktail
-
2 ounces
Rosemary-Blood Orange Infused Rum
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1 ounce
white rum
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3 ounces
blood orange juice
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1 ounce
pineapple juice
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juice from 1/2 lime
-
4 drops
orange bitters
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1 drop
almond extract
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2 tablespoons
organic sugar
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1 teaspoon
fresh rosemary, very finely chopped
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rosemary, raspberries, fresh pineapple, and blood oranges to garnish
Directions
- For the Rosemary-Blood Orange Infused Rum
-
To infuse the rum: place sliced blood orange and rosemary sprigs in the mason jar. Cover with gold rum. Place lid on jar and give it a little shake. Let sit for 3-5 days or until it tastes good to you.
- For the Cocktail
-
For the cocktail: In a cocktail shaker, add infused rum, white rum, blood orange juice, pineapple and lime juices, bitters, almond extract, and 1/2 scoop crushed ice. Place the lid on the shaker and shake for 15-20 seconds.
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Prepare a rosemary-sugar mixture for the rim of the glass by blending the rosemary and sugar. Using the back of a large chef's or santoku knife, run blade over rosemary and sugar until well mixed. It's okay if the sugar turns a little green. All the more festive. place sugar mixture on a plate or in a shallow bowl.
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Take a highball glass and run a piece of pineapple or citrus flesh around the rim. Flip the glass upside down, rotating to cover in the rosemary-sugar. Fill the glass with crushed ice. Strain cocktail (no need to use the ice in the shaker) into the filled glass. Garnish with fresh pineapple, oranges, raspberries, and rosemary skewers.
I’m an old soul. My favorite Saturday morning activity is watching birds on the feeder while drinking strong, black coffee out of my favorite hand-thrown mug. My favorite place to kill time is in antique stores. The less organized the better. I like full-bodied red wines and bitter IPAs. I live for feeling the warmth of sunshine and hearing the stillness of freshly fallen snow. I can thank my stint in Alaska for that. I have salt water in my veins, having grown up in Eastern NC, and (shhh…don’t tell any of my Mainer friends this about me) I prefer blue crab over lobster.
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