Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Frozen Banana Daiquiri (and a Mocktail!)

The original daiquiri cocktail was nothing more than rum, a little sugar, and lime juice. That's it. But cocktails evolve, and people fiddle.

I certainly like to fiddle with drinks. It's fun and it's usually tasty.

This banana daiquiri can be made with or without the rum - it tastes really good as a mocktail. Despite the banana, it doesn't taste like a smoothie - it's light and refreshing and fruity and thirst-quenching.

The key to getting the ice pulverized is to blend it first - without the banana or other ingredients. Depending on your blender, you might have more or less success getting the ice completely blitzed into snow, but for sure you'll have better success if you don't add anything until the ice is as small as you can get it.

If you make a lot of cocktails - or even a lot of ice tea or lemonade - making your own simple syrup is incredibly easy. Just combine equal volumes of sugar and water, bring it to a simmer - you can do this in a saucepan on the stove, or a microwave-safe container in the microwave. Stir as needed until the sugar has melted.

Let the simple syrup cool, then transfer to a bottle or jar.

Banana Daiquiri

1 ripe banana
1 ounce light rum (I used Captain Morgan White Rum)
1 ounce fresh lime juice
1 ounce simple syrup

Blitz 1-2 cups of ice in your blender until you have a fine "snow." Add the banana and blend until smooth. Add the lime juice and simple syrup and blend until combined.

Serve.

A plain white or light rum works well, but I've also made this with Captain Morgan Pineapple rum and Captain Morgan Grapefruit rum. They add a little extra flavor without overwhelming the banana.

The Mocktail!

If you want a mocktail, it's simple - just don't add the rum. It's a lovely fruity drink for anyone. If the mocktail is for an adult who wants the flavor of the rum without the alcohol, you can add 1/8 teaspoon (or less) of rum flavoring - the stuff that's typically used for cakes and candies.
Yum