Chicha: A Gold Fermented Beverage From The Pachamama To Your Glass

Posted on September 26, 2014 by Greta

Foreward by Greta, a We The Eaters regular contributor

One of my earliest memories is sitting in front of the television while my mother cooked or cleaned the house. There weren’t 500 stations, and back then, cartoons didn’t run all day every day. I watched whatever was on PBS. My favorite shows were Mutual of Omaha’s Animal Kingdom, Marty Stouffer’s Wild America and NOVA (I honestly hope you can recall these gems too).

One show in particular captured a spot in my memory. It was a NOVA episode about indigenous groups of Indians in South America that had little, if any, contact with western civilization. The show followed everyday life in a specific village. At one point, the film settled on the women of the village spitting in a large bubbling pot on the central fire to create a ceremonial drink. I was a bit grossed out, but so intrigued that I immediately grabbed my neighbor and one of my mother’s large soup pots and headed for a spot in the 16 acres of woods that surrounded our house to concoct my own version of this mysterious drink.

That pot is probably still out there somewhere – God bless my mother. I don’t know how long our seven year old attention span lasted that day but, when no mysteries were unlocked and the sky didn’t open up within 5 minutes or so, my friend insisted that the Gods were not happy with my recipe of dry pudding, canned corn, milk and some spit and we should play something else.

This past winter, Pittsburgh hosted the United States Bartender’s Guild (USBG) Northeast Regional meeting. For three days, amazing bartenders from all over the Northeastern Seaboard got a chance to see what Pittsburgh bartenders were up to. We competed, shared knowledge, networked, went to seminars, made lifelong friends, worked hard and played harder.

I was lucky enough to meet JP Caceres, a master mixologist from the Washington, D.C., area. It was immediately apparent that Caceres was passionate about our craft — a true Bon Vivant. Luckily, he returned a few months later with his consulting company, The Menehune Group, to impart some knowledge to the bartenders in my neck of the woods: Grit & Grace. For three days, we were lucky enough to learn from some of the best in class, while making great friends and connections.

Originally, I had planned to do a fermentation piece on some of the great home brewers here in Pittsburgh. But, when I heard that Caceres was back in Bolivia working on a few small projects — like revolutionizing the Bolivian cocktail scene and resurrecting historical and culturally important recipes — I decided to ask him if he would like to share his knowledge and passion with our audience. He mentioned that he was working on the fermented beverage Chicha.

“The stuff you spit in?” I asked, remembering. Laughing, he explained. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Chicha: A Gold Fermented Beverage From The Pachamama To Your Glass

By JP Caceres, a bartender traveling South America discovering flavors. Read his bio at the end of this post.
#DrinkSouthAmerica

The Quechuas (pronounced KETCH-you-AH) are an indigenous group of South American people native to Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia. Their land stretched from the mountains of the Andes to the forest of the Amazons. Quechuas have a traditional beverage called “Chicha” that involves a ritualistic aspect of giving back to Pachamama, or “Mother Earth.” Chichi is made from corn and corn is a vital part of the Quechua’s culture. Corn was used as currency and was an integral part of their everyday lives.

“My 84 year old “Casera” (the nickname of a lady that sells you a product on a regular basis) suggested that I try yellow and purple this time …”

One of the most important parts of South American and Quechua culture is to pay respect to Pachamama. As we take from our Mother Earth, we must give back to her. When the Quechuas drink Chicha they always pour a little out on the ground as an offering to Pachamama to thank her for her gifts.

I recently rediscovered Chicha as I traveled back home to Cochabamba, Bolivia after being gone for 15 years. I cleaned out my old room and dusted off my memories. It’s been hard for me to readjust to the Bolivian culture after being gone for so long, but a conversation with my very sick Grandfather, Juan Rojas Siles, now 92, makes me understand that I was meant to be on this trip. My Grandfather and his Grandfather used to make Chicha in Punata, a small town located 45 minutes from Cochabamba. He tells me his stories of watching and helping my great grandfather making Chicha, so I want to continue the tradition and make my abuelito proud.

This process is detailed, perhaps too detailed, but I respect their technique since this fermented beverage of the Quechua gods has been made the same way for centuries. Who am I to change this? Certainly not me, a humble bartender that has Spanish and Quechua blood.

Making Chicha begins in the early hours of the morning. I take a bus to Tarata, my Grandfather’s hometown. My host is Chicha maker (ake’ro in Quechua) Mr. Humberto Soliz. I recognize his Chicheria (aka’huasi in Quchua) or a house where Chicha is made because of the white flag hanging of the wall. There is no such thing as marketing or advertising in this part of the world, just a simple white flag hanging by the door of a weathered bamboo hut.

Here are the steps to make Chicha. For your convenience, I have divided it into two parts.

Part one: The process of making the P’itu (a quechua word for corn flour)

Buy the Corn: Choose kernel corn in bulk, preferably a yellow corn from South America. Peru and Bolivia export high quality yellow, white, and purple corn. My 84 year old “Casera” (the nickname of a lady that sells you a product on a regular basis) suggested that I try yellow and purple this time, so I pick 6.5 pounds of each. This corn can be found in your local Latino grocery store or bodega. Corn was and is the primary ingredient in making Chicha, however in recent times people have discovered that quinoa is an appropriate substitute.

Germination: (Wiñapo a Quechua word for germination) Wash the corn in cold water and let it sit on a flat surface, allowing the corn to germinate for 5-6 days. This process will allow the corn to imagine that it is time to grow and become a beautiful corn plant. It should develop a small white sprout up to an inch. If for some reason it doesn’t by day three, spray some more water on it to speed up the process. Mr. Humberto lays an old sheet on the ground and lays down the corn, covering with another sheet of plastic; he mentions that this will protect the corn from birds and other creatures.

Note: The original weight of the dry corn (6.5 pounds) will drop to approximately 5.5 pounds, as the corn loses weight due to water loss.

Drying: Once the corn develops a small sprout it is time to let it dry in order to concentrate the of sugar within the corn. This process takes about 3-4 days. The weather plays a big role in this process. If it’s winter, it may take up to 10 days, longer if the corn kernels are larger.

Milling: After the corn is completely dry, use a hand grinder or a food processor to mill the corn. Taste the corn–when you chew it, it should be dry and not have any moisture. While we are on the subject of chewing corn (Muke’o a is the Quechua word for chewing) it’s interesting to note that in some small Bolivian towns they still chew the corn and spit it out after it has been milled, and then continue the entire fermentation process with the chewed up corn. The process of Muke’o was once a job left only to the young and beautiful quechua women in an effort to find a mate. They believe that this process allows the Chicha to have a higher alcohol content. I do not make it this way for sanitary purposes.

Note: After milling there will be 3.2 pounds of ground yellow corn or 9 ¾ cups.

Part 2: The process of making Chicha

Step One:

In a large pot mix 11 cups of warm water (105 F°) and the 9 ¾ cups of the ground yellow corn, stir well until the corn mixes with the water. Stir until dissolved. This is a very important ritual in making Chicha; the water temperature has to be warm but never hot (water temp should be an average of (130 F). This is very important. Do not let your water get too hot as this could change the texture of your Chicha and make it too thick. Taste the mixture with a wooden spoon, but do not put your fingers in the mixture as you could cause it to turn sour. The oils from our body contain a high level of acidity.

Add 5 cups of boiling water (212 F°) little by little and keep stirring for another 10 minutes. Taste the difference; you will notice that the flavor is a bit sweeter from before.

Step Two:

Split the mixture in two parts. Bring the first part back to boiling. You must stir the whole time as the corn can stick to the walls of the pot and burn easily. From now on we will call this mix “Upi”, a Quechua word for the combination of warm water and corn flour that is used to make Chicha.

The second half is sitting and you will notice that the “Upi” is turning a golden color, that’s the final color that we want in the Chicha. This process must be repeated twice.

Step Three:

Allow the Upi to cool down for 2-3 hours; cover the pot with a lid or plastic wrap as any contact with the Upi could change the flavor.

With a ladle spoon, carefully skim the liquid into another clean container. Do not run the entire Upi into a strainer. Only skim the top liquid. If you need to let the corn sit again for another few minutes do so as you will be able to strain a little bit more liquid. Expect 6 ¼ cups of liquid after straining.

Step Four:

The left over wet ground corn pot goes back in a low heat, keep stirring as you don’t want the corn to stick to the walls of the pot. Add 1 pound of raw sugar (Chankaka in Quechua). Once the sugar has melted, cover the pot with a lid and let it sit on low heat for 5-6 hours. Stir as much as you can to avoid the mixture from caramelizing and burning the walls of the pot.

After the Queta (Quechua word for the ground corn mixed with the raw sugar) has cooked for 5-6 hours, let it sit and cool down. Be sure to cook this the same day as you are preparing the Upi, as the Queta mixture can make the Chicha very sour.

Step Five:

Bring back to boiling point the liquid from the Upi (6 ¼ cups) that we have strained in step three. Reduce the heat to low and let simmer for 2 hours. Turn off and let it cool down overnight. Do the same for the Queta from step four.

Step Six:

Now mix 3 cups of Queta with the 6 ¼ cups of Upi. Mr. Humberto tells me that if we mix the Queta with the Upi while both or any of them is warm or hot, the Chicha will turn sour.

Allow both Queta and Upi to sit in a large pot covered well with a lid and preferably wrapped with a piece of cloth to allow the Chicha to stay warm. Mr. Humberto wraps his very well with an old blanket and suggests you let it sit for 4-5 days in a warm dark room that doesn’t change temperature.

Note: After 3-4 days if you listen closely to the pot you will hear the fermentation make a “popping,” noise. If you don’t hear this, allow the Chicha to sit an extra day or two.

Final Step:

Strain one more time using a fine strainer or cheese cloth, refrigerate and serve. The Chicha is ready to drink. If you find it sour and you decide to add a little bit of sugar, do it in individual portions and not to the whole mix of Chicha as the sugar will create another fermentation process and your Chicha will turn sour within 24 hours.

The level of alcohol should be between 4-5% ABV. This product must always be consumed cold and the Quechua tradition requires that before drinking you spill a little Chicha on the ground for Pachamama as a gesture of appreciation to allow you to use her Earth, her corn, and water to make this incredible fermented alcoholic beverage.

Note: if you use purple corn instead of yellow, use ½ lb of raw sugar and ½ lb of honey

Salud!

Afterword, again, Greta:

Fast forward almost 30 years from that 7 year old girl mixing potions in the woods near Lake Erie, looking for magic. I’ve been lucky enough to find friends and mentors from all corners of the globe that are as passionate about our craft as I am. There is nothing quite like crafting the perfect drink, passing it across the bar and watching a friend take that first amazing sip. Funny where magic shows up. Cheers!

JP Caceras Bio

Award winning mixologist, JP Caceres is from Cochabamba, Bolivia. He moved to Washington, DC at 19 years old, and began his career in the restaurant industry. He worked as a barback at Jose Andres’ Jaleo, and quickly advanced through the ranks to become one of the city’s most well known and loved mixologists. Before coming to the States, he studied to be a lawyer at the prestigious Catholic University in Bolivia, but soon realized that was not his calling: His refined palate was much more suited to a career in the culinary arts. On a trip to the Amazon with his father, JP had his first taste of Singani, a Bolivian spirit, and thus, began his journey on his illustrious career.

His positions as head bartender at Oyamel, general manager at ChiCha Lounge, head mixologist at Againn, and many more, allowed him to work his way up in the restaurant and bar industry. In his early career, he worked under renowned mixologist Derek Brown, as well as “America’s foremost spirits authority,” Paul Pacult. His impressive work ethic, and commitment to perfecting a cocktail, ultimately led him to where he is today. Today JP owns his own consulting company. In early 2014 alone, he created cocktail menus for an impressive 7 restaurants.

JP is proud to have worked with Oyamel, Againn, Bourbon Steak at the Four Seasons, Sidebar, Dirty Martini, Del Campo, Farmers Fishers Bakers, and MXDC, to name just a few establishments. He has so much passion for his craft he continues to learn and develop his skills. As such, he is a top graduate of Bar Smart, and continues to support the academy in training sessions. He has also taught seminars at the distinguished Museum of the American Cocktail.

Notable achievements include

Washington Post Top 5 New Mixologists, 2010

Current President of United States Bartender’s Guild, DC Chapter

Former Mixologist at Washington DC’s only 4 star, 4 Diamond hotel (Bourbon Steak at Four Seasons, a Michael Mina establishment)

Worked under celebrity chef Todd English, opening MXDC

Del Campo recognized as best new restaurants, 2013 by Esquire Magazine

Nominated best Mixologist of the year by Washington City Paper

Won numerous national cocktail competitions

East Coast Brand Ambassador, Pisco Porton 2012-2013

Tagged with: alcohol, beverage, Bolivia, chicha, corn, drying, fermentation, germintation, milling, Quechua, south america
Posted in Dear Diary

I See Your Yogurt, And Raise You … Kefir

Posted on September 19, 2014 by Amy

One of my favorite breakfasts is a heaping portion of full fat Greek yogurt (it may seem counter intuitive, but research suggests that whole-fat dairy keeps you leaner) with tart unsweetened cranberries, sliced raw almonds, a generous spoonful of ground flax seed and an equally generous spoonful of honey. It makes me feel full, and it’s a great way to get a healthy dose of probiotics to start my day. According to WebMD, yogurt has been shown to help gastrointestinal conditions, including constipation, diarrhea, inflammatory bowel disease — and even colon cancer. But …

I hate that there’s always a but! This one is pretty straightforward though: Greek yogurt can be pricey. My solution to this kind of problem is usually D.I.Y.!

I am a “do it yourself” kind of girl, as anyone who knows me well will attest. I made my own wedding invitations. I knit my own scarves and make jewelry. I designed my own wine glass holders out of recycled vintage wood boxes and a hack using IKEA’s pot lid organizer, Variera. And that’s just the crafty stuff. Even as a little kid, I was sprouting beans under my bed. This did NOT make my mother happy, but planted a different kind of seed in me: a passion for culinary experimentation. Earlier this year, I started making my own butter. I’m learning about making cheese, and as you may have read, have recently tackled kimchi, another probiotic food.

So why not yogurt? I mean, I have a dehydrator, which is probably the easiest way to make it go.

I’ll tell you why: It takes seven to 15 hours to make yogurt. Sure, it takes even longer to get that good bacteria thriving in kimchi … but the ingredients in that fermented cabbage superfood can be a very personal thing. Making it myself allows me to put what I want in it — like daikon or kale. You can’t always buy it off the shelf that way. Yogurt is pretty much yogurt, and though a D.I.Y. version ensures an affordable, quality product … splurging when I’m crazy busy (like now, and pretty much always) just makes sense.

I still don’t like that answer, but what’s a girl to do?

As it turns out, my friend Mara had just the thing: Kefir. Similar to kombucha (which we’ll learn about next week), kefir requires a SCOBY, a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast, which are commonly referred to as “kefir grains.” You can get them from a friend who makes the stuff (thanks, Mara!), online or in some health food stores. The instructions she gave were ridiculously easy: You take a spoonful of kefir grains, add milk and let it sit for 24 hours.

That’s it.

I’m not even kidding.

And while yogurt contains beneficial bacteria, kefir ups the ante with Lactobacilluis Caucasus, Acetobacter species and, well, I’m stopping there because I can’t pronounce — let alone spell — half of the awesome bacteria found in the stuff. Some sources say that you get acidopholous with yogurt, but up to 25 different kinds of probiotics with kefir. And if you’re lactose intolerant, there’s good news: The healthy bacteria and beneficial yeast eat up most of the milk sugars while the kefir cultures. You can also make it with water!

The consistency is a bit different than my Greek yogurt breakfast — more drinkable than spoonable — but it still has that tangy taste. I switch it up a bit and pour some on top of some granola (homemade, of course!).

Quick & Easy Kefir

1/4 cup kefir grains
4 cups milk
1 quart glass ball jar or other glass container

Add kefir grains to clean glass jar. Add milk. Unlike yogurt, it’s okay to use cold milk.

Close lid tightly and shake, Loosen lid to allow any gasses to escape during fermentation process, or use a clean cloth secured with twine (a paper towel with a rubber band works well, too!). Allow to sit at room temperature for 12 to 48 hours. After 12 hours, check to see if it has thickened. If not, allow to sit longer, checking every 12 hours. The warmer your climate, the sooner this will be done — so keep and eye on it. Mara says 12 works best for her, and that it gets too sour if it sits longer (plus, the curds and whey begin to separate, and that just makes me think of spiders for some reason. I hate spiders.)

Mara says she doesn’t strain hers, she just drinks it as-is — grains and all. Her reasoning is that saving all those grains means having so many you can’t even give them all away on Craigslist. That said, I have an acute issue with consistency violations, so I’m a fan of this next step.

Place a fine strainer or cheese cloth over a new clean container and pour kefir in (or use a funnel with a strainer … one of my fave kitchen gadgets!). You can coax it through by shaking, or just let it sit for a while. When all the kefir has moved to the jar, return the grains to the unwashed jar and add more milk. This will kickstart the process on your next batch.

Now … eat it. Drink it. Add it to smoothies, or any one of the other endless ways to ingest this healthy stuff! And if you don’t want to make another batch right away, you can cover them in milk and store them in the fridge. They nosh on the milk, and will eventually die once their food source is gobbled up. You can also freeze the grains.

Check out THIS great troubleshooting guide for everything kefir.

Tagged with: bacteria, culture, dairy, easy, enzyme, fermented, gut, healthy, inexpensive, kefir, lacto, milk, probiotic, quick, scoby, simple, yogurt
Posted in Dear Diary

A Cool Treuse: The Chartreuse Swizzle

Posted on August 22, 2014 by Greta

George D., Bartender @ Grit & Grace Pittsburgh.

The only thing better than writing about a cocktail is experiencing one.

I was two days into my vacation in St. Maarten, and, quite honestly, I couldn’t stand the thought of another frozen, super-fruity rum creation. So I took to the food and cocktail blogs I follow and found a cocktail alternative: the Chartreuse Swizzle.

The very next morning, I set off to the local grocery to get what I needed. Thankfully, St. Maarten is the culinary hotspot of the Caribbean and I found everything I was after. I knew the drink was a winner when there was nothing left in my glass by the time I sat down to enjoy it — so I had a few more.

When I got back to the States and had some time and fresh produce on hand, I fiddled with the recipe. Some of the ingredients may be unfamiliar to readers not directly involved in the spirits business, so I’ll explain them.

The alcoholic components of Chartreuse Swizzle are equal parts of Jamaican rum and Chartreuse, and .25oz falernum. Measure in some pineapple and fresh lime juices, plus a hefty sprig of fresh mint, and you have you have yourself a cool and classy cocktail.

So why Jamaican rum, falerWhoWhat — and what exactly is Chartreuse? Glad you asked! … Now, the “Cocktail Geek” in me gets to come out and play!

Quick rum class: Rum is made from sugarcane juice or sugarcane byproducts, aka molasses. Most rum — and there is a ton of it — is made in the Caribbean. Each island has its own style, just like BBQ in the states: it all tastes different, but you know exactly what it is. If you try several rums side-by-side at a tasting, this becomes really apparent.

Rum from Barbados (Plantation), is light and sweet, Guyana has a super-heavy and rich style (El Dorado), Martinique specializes in Agricole Rhum made from sugar cane (St. James and Clement), Puerto Rico has what most people are familiar with — light, dry and oaky rum (Bacardi), while Jamaica has a funky, rich and aromatic style of rum (Appleton and Myers), which we are using today.

Falernum: Falernum is a bit tricky. The liquer has flavors of clove, ginger, almond, lime and allspice and is used to give tiki-style drinks great depth, complexity and spice. Sometimes it is alcohol-based and sometimes not. In this case we are using an alcohol base (Fee Brothers makes a decent non-alcoholic version). Taylor’s Velvet is a commercial, alcoholic version.

If you really want to experience good falernum, and you have an adventurous soul, make your own or try a bartender’s creation. The best falernum that I have ever had was made right here in Pittsburgh, at Maggie’s Farm Rum, by a super-crafty and multi-talented bartender named Lucky. Amazing stuff!

Lastly, the spirit Chartreuse. Chartreuse is in a class of its own and deserves special attention + love. For this, I will hand the stick over to David Bouchard, principal bartender at The Cooper in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., who was kind enough to give me an interview.

Me: “David, it’s obvious to anyone that meets you that you are passionate about this particular spirit. Why?”

David: “My first experience with Chartreuse was almost a decade after I first stepped behind a bar, and for me, it was truly an eye-opening experience. Not only was I captivated by what is in the bottle, I was inspired by the story. It’s a spirit that has hardly changed in over 400 years – and it’s so good.”

Me: “So what’s the story? 400 years is a long time.”

David: “The Order of Carthusian monks received a gift in 1605, an already ancient manuscript containing a recipe that would later become an elixir, the ‘Elixir of Long Life.’ There is a great deal of uncertainty regarding this manuscript, but what we do know is that Chartreuse is made up of a specific concoction of 130 different plants and herbs. What’s even more interesting than that is the fact that only two monks actually have the knowledge and skill to infuse, macerate and blend these ingredients to produce the herbal elixir.”

Me: “An elixir? Sounds like a type of medicine.”

David: “Ironically, the elixir was so delicious that it was often used as a beverage, rather than a medicine. And in response to this, the monks adapted the recipe to produce a ‘milder’ beverage of 55 percent ABV or 110 proof, that we know today as Green Chartreuse. Green Chartreuse is most commonly used in classic cocktails such as Last Word [gin, Green Chartreuse, Luxardo Maraschino, and lime juice], as well as an often overlooked classic Bijou [gin, Green Chartreuse and sweet vermouth].”

Me: “Wow, great story. Is there anything else we should know?”

This bottle, using the code, would have been bottled on June 5th (day 156) of 2013 (929+1084).

David: ‘Yes! If you look on the neck of the bottle there are some numbers. If you add the first three numbers to 1084, the year the Carthusian monastery was founded, you’ll get the year the spirit was bottled. The next three numbers represent the day of the year. Right now I have a bottle on the shelf that was bottled on Valentine’s Day, 2006. There is also a milder version, Yellow Chartruese. It is lighter in color and flavors as well as AVB percent.”

Gotta love when you learn something new, right? Not a ton of people are familiar with Chartreuse, at least here in Pittsburgh, so when they come into the bar looking for something different or new, this is one of the spirits I mention. And, if they are totally un-initiated, I explain what they will be tasting with this story:

Remember The Sound of Music, when Julie Andrews is singing her heart out and twirling through an Alpine meadow? Pretend for a moment that you are there, on a warm summer day, with just a hint of a breeze blowing through the tall grasses and mountain flowers. As you lie down in the tall grasses there is a brilliant blue sky, bright summer sun and giant, ever-so-slow moving puffy white clouds. The only sound you hear is the gentle rustling of grasses and buzzing of honey bees. Now breathe in. That’s what Yellow Chartreuse tastes like.

Now, pretend you start to hike towards the rocky, craggy mountains that surround that same meadow. As you wander higher in elevation, you notice the vegetation changes and the air is crisper and cooler. As the tree line thins out, you rest on a rocky outcropping under a pine bough. Off in the distance you notice the clouds are getting thicker and ominously darker. The breeze kicks up a notch. You get a slight shiver and smell the rains of a summer storm coming. That’s the flavor of Green Chartreuse.

My advice to you would be to try Chartreuse on its own first, then try it mixed in a classic cocktail and then go back and try it again straight. I guarantee that if you stop by a quality establishment they will have Chartreuse. If they aren’t super-busy and it isn’t a hectic Friday night, the bartender may even pour you a drop. And if they get a twinkle in their eye and smile while they explain the spirit, you should consider making that bar a regular stop, because you have found a true gem.

Cheers.

Chartreuse Swizzle

Some advice: This is a great drink for a large group. To make things easier on yourself, batch it the night before by converting all of the ounces to cups and refrigerate. When you are ready to use it, pull it out of the refrigerator, pour and follow the same directions as above. This way you won’t have to bartend your own party. Sit back, cool down and relax with an amazing cocktail that pleases almost any palate and is super approachable.

Also — and this is important to the quality of any cocktail you will ever make — always use fresh ingredients. Don’t use the lime juice that’s been chillin’ in your fridge for the last year. Trust me.

1oz Green Chartreuse
1oz Appleton Rum
.25oz Falernum
1.5oz Pineapple juice
.5oz Lime juice
.25oz Simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water, completely dissolved)
One hefty mint sprig
Crushed Ice

Pour all your ingredients into a mixing tin or shaker and shake without any ice. Shake vigorously. Pour mixture into glass and add crushed ice until glass is about 3⁄4 filled. Swizzle (or stir gently if you don’t have a swizzle stick) and top glass off with more crushed ice. Take your hefty sprig of mint and beat it gently on the outside of your filled glass (this will release all of the aromatic oils of the mint). Place the aromatic mint sprig into your glass as the perfect garnish.

Tagged with: alcohol, Chartreuse, cocktail, cooling, Falernum, lime juice, mint, pineapple juice, rum, simple syrup
Posted in Dear Diary