With its striking scarlet hue and manicured lemon twist studded with a mint plume, the Banana Blossom is the perfect encapsulation of Erika Flowers’ ability to blend the dramatic with the approachable. The drink features banana liqueur, lime and aged rum infused with hibiscus, an ingredient “so ingrained in me, growing up in a Caribbean household,” says Flowers. She finishes the drink with a spritz of lavender tincture on both the surface of the cocktail and the stem of the glass, so the aroma transfers to the drinker’s fingertips.
Banana Blossom
Erika Flowers | New Orleans
Ingredients
Serving: 1
- 1 1/2 ounces hibiscus-infused aged Puerto Rican rum, preferably Don Q 7-year (see Editor’s Note)
- 3/4 ounce banana liqueur, preferably Giffard Banane du Brésil
- 3/4 ounce lime juice
- 1/4 ounce rich Demerara syrup (2:1, Demerara sugar to water)
- 2 dashes Angostura bitters
Garnish: lemon peel rose, mint bouquet, lavender tincture (see Editor’s Note)
Directions
- Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker.
- Whip-shake with a few pebble ice cubes until diluted, then pour into a pebble ice–filled snifter.
- Garnish with a lemon peel rose with a mint bouquet through the center.
- Using an atomizer, spritz lavender tincture over the cocktail and on the stem of the glass.
Editor's Note
Hibiscus-Infused Rum
2 tablespoons dried hibiscus flowers
8 ounces aged Puerto Rican rum, preferably Don Q 7-year
Steep the hibiscus flowers in the rum for at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours for richer color and flavor. Strain and store in an airtight glass container.
Lavender Tincture
8 ounces vodka
1/4 cup dried lavender buds
Add the vodka and lavender buds to a glass jar and seal it. Shake the contents and place out of direct sunlight. Let sit for at least 48 hours and up to 2 weeks, giving the jar a shake once in a while. Strain through a fine sieve, gently pressing the lavender to extract liquid, then transfer to a clean, airtight glass jar. Transfer the desired amount to an atomizer.