More Bounce To The Ounce
Recipe by A.J. Goodrich
Ingredients:
- 1.5 oz. Novo Fogo Bar Strength Silver Cachaça
- 1.5 oz. Pineapple Juice
- .75 oz. Strawberry Date Syrup (see Prep below)
- 1/4 tsp. Citric Acid
- .5 oz. Amaro Angeleno
- Shake & Strain with into Collins Glass (with regular block ice)
- Top with Homemade Pineapple Strawberry Tepache (see Prep below)
Preparation:
Pineapple Strawberry Tepache:
Cut tops of strawberries off - wash thoroughly, and add to a large pot
Juice strawberries (2 cartons) in a centrifugal juicer (save juice for syrup later)
Take leftover pulp and add to large pot, along with the stems
Cut top of pineapple off, about 2 inches below the stem (save for later)
Cut off bottom, sides - wash thoroughly, and add to large pot
Cut pineapple into chunks as you normally would
Juice pineapple chunks in a centrifugal juicer (save juice for cocktail recipe)
Put core into the large pot
Save a few strawberry & pineapple slices for garnish!
Add to the large pot:
-6 cups of filtered water
-1 cup of local organic sustainable honey
-2 cinnamon sticks
-6 cloves
Cover pot lightly with a kitchen towel, let sit out at room temperature for 2-3 days (works best at 77-86 degrees Fahrenheit)
Once mixture begins to ferment, spoon off white foam at the top of the pot
Strain out any solids (save for later)
Bottle & Refrigerate remaining Pineapple Strawberry Tepache
Strawberry Date Syrup:
Add 1 part strawberry juice to 2 parts organic local date syrup
Store & Refrigerate
Make Cocktail using ingredient specs & garnish described
To Replant Pineapple:
Twist off stem at the base
Remove lower half of leaves, gently pulling off at the base, saving 6-12 leaves at the center
Add discarded leaves & remainder of pineapple top to your Bokashi compost bucket
Add strained out Tepache solids/remainder to your Bokashi compost bucket
Add any other organic compostable material you may have to your Bokashi bucket, if desired
Let pineapple stem dry out for 2 days, then sit it in a shallow glass of water up to the stem until roots start to sprout, changing the water every few days (roots in about 2 weeks)
Plant sprouting stem in a 10 inch pot with potting soil
Fertilize with liquid “Bokashi Tea” from the bottom of your compost bucket as solids break down
The plant will grow like an indoor moderate tropical houseplant and can be moved outdoors in warm weather - doesn’t need to much water, just when soil dries out
You can remove any “suckers” and plant them too to grow more!
Fruit will mature in 2-3 years
Any remaining compost can be ground up and added to your garden or favorite houseplant as a fertilizer!
Garnish:
Garnish With Pineapple Leaves, Strawberry & Pineapple Slices (Save The Leaves For Compost When You’re Done!)
Glassware:
Collins Glass With Regular Block Ice
Cocktail Inspiration:
For “More Bounce to the Ounce” I wanted to create something bold, tropical, and funky in a way that reused the major ingredients involved. The eponymous 1980 funk song, by Zapp, was voted by Billboard Magazine as the number one funkiest song of all time — but it also speaks to how the cocktail itself is environmentally friendly. I literally got more bounce to the ounce in my drink by recycling the ingredients in a number of ways.
I was inspired by Novo Fogo’s own mission of human and environmental sustainability, as a carbon negative company with a zero waste distillery, to create a virtually zero waste cocktail. Thinking about environmental impact from top to bottom, I used only local, organic, and sustainable products that would bolster the flavor profile of Bar Strength Organic Silver Cachaca and make it shine.
My recipe calls for both pineapple and strawberry juice. Juicing both in a centrifugal juicer, I saved the pulp and refuse, as well as the pineapple core, skins, and strawberry tops to create a homemade pineapple strawberry Tepache — which is a traditional Mexican fizzy drink that is basically like a young fruit wine with a low 2-4% ABV — which I then used as a spritz topper (see prep instructions for more detail). I also used local, organic and sustainably farmed honey, instead of the traditional sugar in Tepache, to avoid the environmental issues of refined sugar.
Refined sugar is heavily processed, creates a significant amount of waste, and carries a number of environmental harmful downstream effects, so for my main sweetener, I instead used date syrup — local, 100% organic, and sustainably made in California. Date syrup production has a low carbon footprint and causes no known environmental damage to air, water, land, and soil. It’s also significantly healthier than sugar, and is packed with antioxidants, potassium, magnesium, iron, and phosphorus.
To avoid the issue of waste by using only citrus juice and not the rest of the fruit, I used Citric Acid to balance my cocktail. Citric acid poses little risk to the environment, is naturally occurring, and biodegradable.
I added .5 oz. of Amaro Angeleno to give it a bit more heft and complexity, while still letting Novo Fogo’s Bar Strength Silver Cachaca be the star of the show. Amaro Angeleno is made an hour from my house —I wanted to avoid a big carbon footprint with shipping and distribution. They also are committed to sustainable agricultural practices, using local, wildcrafted sources.
Finally, I replanted the stem of the pineapple (see instructions above). With the strained, fermented Tepache refuse, as well as any other refuse (basically just the plucked unused pineapple leaves), I used the Bokashi method of composting to create a nutrient-rich tea to fertilize my baby pineapple. Any other remains can be ground as compost for your garden. You don’t just get a cocktail, here— you get a new tropical houseplant, too!
“More Bounce to the Ounce,” may be an environmentally friendly cocktail that highlights Novo Fogo Bar Strength Silver Cachaca, but it’s also just big, bold, fun, and funky. Everything you could want in a glass. Cheers!
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