Pineapple & Methyl Hexanote
The aromatic of the hour is a molecule called methyl hexanoate, which can be found in coffee, pineapple, white wine, hops, kiwi, and oysters, among other things. And although I am definitely crazy enough to put oyster brine in a pineapple cocktail, that particular experiment will have to wait.
For all of these drinks, my process and template were the same: I mixed an ounce of fresh pineapple juice with an ounce of the other main ingredient in the drink, tasted it, adjusted the ratio, padded it with vodka, and sweetened it with simple syrup.
In order to maximize the flavor of the pineapple, I cut a pineapple into rings and roasted them in the broiler until the surface became caramelized and brown. The smell of roasted pineapple filled my whole house, and this is something that I would wish for you, as well. If you have a grill, you could grill the pineapple instead of roasting. I then muddled the roasted pineapple into the drink to provide cooked and caramelized pineapple flavors along with raw and fresh ones.The ratios of ingredients are kind of all over the place. I'm sorry for that. I like my drinks to be properly jiggered but in these lower-alcohol drinks, jiggers start to matter less. I think we've learned the rules sufficiently at this point that we can break them when we want.
Wineapple
1.5 oz Chardonnay (Project Happiness Chardonnay)
1 oz Fresh Pineapple Juice
1 Roasted Pineapple Ring, 3/4" Thick
1 oz Vodka
1 Barspoon simple syrup
Muddle roasted pineapple with vodka until its juice is thoroughly extracted.
Add other ingredients and then shake over ice.
Double strain into a coupe glass and garnish with a pineapple leaf.
This drink was the lightest in the series, probably too light. I considered using a white wine reduction, but although this pairing is unobjectionable, it is not more than the sum of its parts. The most intriguing thing about this drink was the way that the vodka brought out the other flavors. Before I added the vodka, the taste of this drink was flat and bland, but adding the vodka somehow turned up the volume on both the pineapple and the wine. Even so, I wouldn't remake this.
IPAnapple
1.5 oz IPA (Knee Deep Hoptologist)
1 oz Fresh Pineapple Juice
1 Roasted Pineapple Ring, 3/4" Thick
1 oz Vodka
1 Barspoon simple syrup
Muddle roasted pineapple with vodka until its juice is thoroughly extracted.
Add other ingredients and then shake over ice.
Double strain into an old fashioned glass and garnish with a pineapple leaf.
If you enjoy IPA, you will probably love this. Pineapple and IPA were meant to go together. Don't overcomplicate things by putting other flavors into the mix. As with the above, the vodka helped to increase the perception of contrast between the flavors. Especially after drinking this, I can discern prominent notes of pineapple in an IPA all on its own.
Ocelot
1.5 oz Single Origin Coffee from your favorite local roaster
1 oz Fresh Pineapple Juice
1 Roasted Pineapple Ring
3/4" Thick
1 oz Vodka
1 Barspoon Coffee Liqueur
Muddle roasted pineapple with vodka until its juice is thoroughly extracted.
Add other ingredients and then shake over ice.
Double strain into a small mug and garnish with a pineapple leaf.
I don't know why, but I felt like calling this "Ocelot". Probably I have been watching too much Archer. In any case this was the best of the bunch. Coffee and pineapple both froth up pretty fiercely when you shake them, so after I double-strained this drink, I used my barspoon to get some of the froth sitting at the top of the strainer onto the top of the drink. In my first version of this, I used simple syrup instead of coffee liqueur, but I wanted to reinforce the flavor of the coffee a little more. If you make a drink from this post, this is the one.
Shrunken Head
1 oz Vodka
1 oz Fresh Pineapple Juice
.5 oz lime juice
1 Roasted Pineapple Ring, 3/4"
Thick
2 cloves
1 Barspoon simple syrup
1 Barspoon Demerara Rum
Curry Powder to taste
Crush the cloves in the vodka with a mortar and pestle, then add the vodka to your measuring tin with the roasted pineapple.
Muddle and add all other ingredients.
Shake and then double strain into a snifter and garnish with a pineapple leaf.
I broke the mold with this one. When one has a pitcher of fresh pineapple juice, it is advisable to make something in the genre of tiki. I was originally going to call this a "minimalist" tiki drink, but upon looking at the ingredient list I'm not sure if I can get away with that. This was my second pick from this cocktail lab, though I think I need to explore the concept of a curried pineapple drink a little further. It's not perfect yet.
Cheers!