“This drink came out of multiple failures of trying to do tea well in a drink,” says Garret Richard. An avid tea drinker, Richard wanted to incorporate jasmine tea into a modern take on the Daiquiri, which he does by infusing it in milk-washed rhum that’s then run through a centrifuge to clarify. The citrus component is comprised of acid-adjusted grapefruit and a pineapple syrup acts as the sweetener. “I really wanted to do something with jasmine and grapefruit—I’d seen it in a lot of perfumes but not necessarily in a lot of cocktails,” says Richard. “I’ve had success with jasmine and pineapple together so those two things were in the back of my mind. This drink just kind of came together from multiple loves really.”
Isle Delfino
Garret Richard, Existing Conditions | New York
Ingredients
Serving: 1
- 2 ounces milk-washed jasmine-rhum (see Editor's Note)
- 1/2 ounce pineapple syrup (see Editor's Note)
- 1/2 ounce acid adjusted grapefruit juice (see Editor's Note)
- 5 drops saline solution (1:4, salt:water)
Garnish: pansy
Directions
- Combine all ingredients in a mixing tin and shake with one large ice cube and two smaller ice cubes.
- Strain into a large coupe.
- Garnish with a pansy.
Editor's Note
Milk-Washed Jasmine-Rhum:
20g organic jasmine green tea pearls
1L rhum agricole, preferably Barbancourt Rhum Blanc
250ml room temperature whole milk
15ml citric acid, 15 percent solution
Combine the tea and rhum and stir to integrate. Let sit at room temperature for three hours then fine strain into a container. Add the milk and whisk gently then let the mixture sit for 15 minutes. Add the citric acid solution, gently stirring to incorporate, until the milk begins to break. Once there is a top layer of clear rhum, spin in a centrifuge. Marry all the spun rhum in a single container before use.
Acid Adjusted Grapefruit:
4g citric acid powder
100ml strained grapefruit juice
In a small container, combine all ingredients and stir to combine.
Pineapple Syrup:
Add organic cane sugar to fresh pineapple juice until it measures 50 Brix on a refractometer.