My friend Dave (@DaveThePlatypus) sent me a bottle of his homemade Grilled Pineapple Moonshine and it was PHENOMENAL! It was incredibly smooth for a moonshine, in point of fact for any spirit, and the pineapple hit your nose right from the get-go and carried through right down the throat along with a natural sweetness and touch of tartness. The hint of smoke from grilling the pineapple was a crowning touch. If Dave doesn't sell this he's missing a great opportunity, it's not only the best pineapple moonshine I've ever had, it's the best pineapple infused liquor I've ever had.
I have been taking little nips from it so often that I thought I'd better get a cocktail recipe done before I nipped it all away. The problem was, that moonshine was so good on it's own I had a hard time coming up with a cocktail recipe that would do it justice.
I finally settled on a humorous approach to a pineapple upside down martini. Most of those are fairly uninspired vodka concoctions with a splash of chemical bomb laden, jarred Maraschino cherry syrup from the dark side of drinks. I wasn't going to insult Dave and his deliciously smoky pineapple moonshine so I had to tweak that concept over to the enlightened era of mixology with a little culinary creativity.
The first thing I did was dump the jarred Maraschino syrup and make homemade. I added just a bit more acid (fresh lime juice) to counterbalance the sweetness from the homemade syrup, then I upped the smokiness and the kick factor with a little Chipotle hot sauce.
No added booze. That moonshine didn't need any help in that department, trust me. I had two of these and the only thing I was good for after that was The Boob Tube, and, confidentially, I don't remember what I watched. The next morning I found the Rubber Ducky swizzle stick in my toothbrush holder in the bathroom.
Glass: Small Rocks, or something fun in the same size.
DIRECTIONS
Grill several pineapple spears. Cut up enough for a third of a cup per cocktail. Save one for garnish.
In the bottom of your glass, muddle (smash) the grilled pineapple chunks and hot sauce with the lime juice.
Fill the glass with ice, pour in the pineapple moonshine then stir.
Pour the homemade Maraschino syrup over the back of a spoon placed against the side of the glass so the syrup will settle to the bottom.
Garnish with a grilled pineapple wedge, Homemade Maraschino cherry and a dusting of smoked paprika on top and serve.
Below are the video instructions:
HOMEMADE MARASCHINO SIMPLE SYRUP
INGREDIENTS
1 Cup of Frozen Dark Cherries
1 Cup of Turbinado Sugar
1/4 Tsp. Lemon Zest
DIRECTIONS
Bring all the ingredients to a boil then immediately reduce heat to low. Smash cherries with a potato masher to release all the juice. Simmer on low until the syrup thickens, about 20 minutes. Allow to cool, strain into a sterile syrup bottle or jar.
Will keep refrigerated for up to a month.
* The GRILLED PINEAPPLE MOONSHINE was a gift from Dave Ferreira.
National Pineapple Upside Down Cake Day is April 20th, National Pineapple Day is June 27th.
