Not Your Ordinary Beach Drinks
April 5, 2010
•Le Cordon Bleu
•Miami
• 0 Comments
Not Your Ordinary Beach Drinks
Four of the most popular beach drinks include the pina colada, margarita, mai tai, and mojito. While the traditional recipes for these drinks have proved to be true crowd pleasers over the years, it’s time to try something new and take these drinks to the next level. Here’s how.
Pina Colada
A typical pina colada includes three ounces of light rum, three tablespoons coconut cream, and three tablespoons crushed pineapple. Blend all ingredients with ice for a frothy, coconut-flavored beach beverage.
But what if you don’t like pineapple or what if you’d like to add a little more pizzazz to this overdone drink? Why not replace pineapple with a half a cup of banana? You could also replace your average rum with coconut flavored rum or exchange coconut cream with coconut milk.
Margarita
Salt, no salt, rocks, blended, top shelf, below the bar, and on and on. Margaritas can be made in all varieties of flavors and with any number of idiosyncrasies. Most recipes call for one ounce tequila, ½ ounce of triple sec, and one ounce lime juice all of which is shaken and poured over ice or blended with ice. Sure you can use mango juice instead of lime juice or a daiquiri mix instead of lime and triple sec, but what if you keep the traditional ingredients and add an unusual ingredient for both carbonation and unique flavor…like beer!
Margaritas with beer work best when combined in the blender. First, fill the blender with 1 ½ cups ice then add the beer of your choice. It’s helpful to pour the beer into a glass first and then pour it into the pitcher. The point is to eliminate some of the carbonation before you blend. If the beer is too fizzy or the blender is too full, the liquid will overflow from the blender when mixed. After adding the beer combine 12 ounces of tequila and one can of frozen limeade. Blend and serve.
Mai Tai
A mai tai is a complicated drink that typically includes light rum, dark rum, crème de almond, triple sec, sweet and sour mix, and pineapple juice. Rum may be a critical component to the mai tai, but the sweetening ingredients can be any variety of things.
To add a unique twist to you mai tai, forego the sweet and sour mix and pineapple juice. Instead, use a healthier sweetener: a natural sweetener from the desert grown agave plant.
Daiquiri
The tried and true strawberry daiquiri is a beach time favorite all over the world. This sweet blended beverage contains rum, lime juice, and a sweetened fresh strawberry mix. If you are ready to try a new kind of daiquiri, why not replace a fruit with a vegetable?
An avocado, believe it or not, creates a smooth and flavorful daiquiri. Simply add ¼ of an avocado, ¾ ounce of fresh lime juice, and one ounce rum. Of course, crushed ice and a lime wedge will add that final twist for truly unique beach drink.
This article is presented by Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts Miami. Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts Miami offers Le Cordon Bleu culinary education classes and culinary training programs in Miami, Florida To learn more about the class offerings, please visit http://www.Chefs.edu/Miami for more information. Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts Miami does not guarantee employment or salary.