COTW: Tropical Impulse
It's Friday ladies, which means cocktail hour! Yes, ugh finally time to let that hair down and pour yourself a job well done. Earlier this week I did an inventory of our produce to see what would be needed to get us through the weekend and saw that a couple bananas had been pushed under all of the other fruits. They were extremely bruised and I knew that no one would want to eat them. Instead of tossing them out for the forest animals to munch on I decided to make some simple syrup with it and the result was delicious!
Banana Simple Syrup
2 ripe Bananas
1.5 cup Water
1 cup Sugar
Put water in a pot to boil. While you're waiting, mash bananas until they are a creamy texture. Once water is boiling add sugar and mashed bananas. Remove from heat and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Let cool. Pour mixture into a shaker with a strainer and strain mixture into a mason jar. Store in fridge until use.
Couple of notes:
Do not allow any of the banana pieces to stay in the jar or it will make your syrup go bad.
If you do not have a mason jar, a clean spaghetti jar will be sufficient.
Once you see a greenish tint, or cloudy build up, it is time to discard the syrup.
As I made this syrup and the smell of bananas filled the kitchen I was reminded of a song called Beach In Hawaii by Ziggy Marley and was immediately transported to a few summers ago when the hubby and I spent all day swimming and drinking Pineapple Breezes. Then I looked out the window and was crushed with the cold reality. I wasn't going to let go of that feeling so I whipped up something to keep me there.
Tropical Impulse
1.5 oz Clear Rum
1 oz Banana Syrup
1 oz Pineapple Juice
1 cup Ice
Dash of Grenadine
Orange Juice
Cherries for garnish
Using a Tom Collins glass, pour enough Grenadine into the bottom just to cover the bottom. Combine the first four ingredients in a shaker and shake to combine. Pour entire contents (ice and all) into your glass. Fill with orange juice and add two cherries in for garnish. Sit back and enjoy.
When hubby and I take the Tornado to the beach we allow him to have one virgin drink to hype him up through the rest of the evening. The sun, surf, and wind really can take it out of even a kid. When he saw me making this he just HAD to have one so I made a virgin for him, just subbed the rum for extra orange juice and a splash of soda water.
I hope you enjoy this drink as much as we did, rum or not. Until next time amigas, adios!