This pink cocktail gets its cute pastel color from a mixture of strawberry cream soda, cream of coconut, and Kingfly white rum. Originality and a freewheeling sense of adventure harmonized a wide range of flavors—lime, coconut cream, bitters, orange, and basil, took flight and touched the sun with this.This recipe comes to us from Unspeakable, a speakeasy formerly in the back of Lawrenceville Vietnamese-inspired coffeeshop Ineffable Cà Phê.
How to Get the Pink Cocktail Color
Though this cocktail tastes great, part of what made it our second place People’s Choice at the cocktail shakeoff is how it looks. It’s got great garnish and amazing color. With just rum and strawberry soda, you’d still have a clear base. What actually gives this cocktail its pastel pink is the cream of coconut. But you want to be careful to not add more than the recommended half an ounce, because it being the heaviest ingredient in this mixture means it can easily overwhelm the other elements.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ oz Kingfly White Rum
- ½ oz fresh lime juice
- ½ oz simple syrup
- ½ oz cream of coconut, pre-blended
- ¼ oz Amaro 05
- Red Ribbon Strawberry Cream Soda
- Orange peels for garnish
- Sugar for garnish
- 2 dashes of Angostura Bitters for garnish
- 1 large basil leaf for garnish
Instructions
- Add ice, rum, lime, simple syrup, coconut cream, and amaro to shaker.
- Shake vigorously until frost forms on the shaker.
- Strain and pour over ice into a rocks glass.
- Top with Red Ribbon soda, orange peels, sugar, 2 dashes of angostura bitters, and a large basil leaf.
What’s the Deal with Angostura Bitters?
If you’re new to making your own cocktails, you probably see angostura bitters everywhere and wonder: Just what are they? Well, they’ve been around since 1824, when doctor Johann Siegel wanted to create a medicine to improve appetite among soldiers in Angostura, Venezuela, now Ciudad Bolivar. They’re a blend of tropical herbs and sometimes angostura bark and yes, a staple in many, many cocktails. In this one, they’re showing up as a garnish to deflect from some of the sweetness. They add flavor and make liquor go down easier, so it’s no wonder why. The House of Angostura, a Trinidad & Tobago based retailer, now leads production on bitters, but you can get them anywhere.
Recipe by Eva Kobylar and Bri Gartley / Story by Emma Riva / Photography by Dave Bryce
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