Inspiration LIVIN’ THE DREAM COCKTAIL

It’s the same dream every time. A white sand beach that stretches for miles each way. You’re knee-deep in a gentle azure ocean that almost looks too blue. The warm salty air leisurely dances through your hair. You’re the only one there and the only sounds you hear are the lapping of the waves. You feel light, and weightless. So much so that you have to check you aren’t actually floating off the ground. You bask in this because you know it doesn’t last forever. You close your eyes and inhale deeply one more time, ready to wake up. Ready to sink back into reality. Except this time you don’t. Your eyes shoot open and you’re still here. The same beach, the same ocean, only now you’re really seeing it. You take it in and smile wider.    

There’s nothing to wake up from. You’re already living the dream.

I think we all share the hope of “making it” someday. That proverbial place in life where all our problems melt away and we live in easy-going bliss. Over time I’ve stopped thinking of that place as a destination and started looking at it as a choice. It’s almost impossible to get to a point in life where we have no problems, life acts upon us just as much as we act upon it. However, that doesn’t mean we can’t make time to stop and enjoy all the beauty that we currently have in our lives. Those moments of appreciation always come easiest for me at the beach. Something about the way the ocean meats the sand, and the sun seems to twinkle in the sky. It reminds me that there’s more to life than simply moving through it.

Now we’re going to bring the beach to us by taking some classic tropical flavours and turning them into another ready-to-pour cocktail that’s perfect for beach days or backyard BBQs. The star is a beautiful Tepache we make with the Golden Tumeric Herbal Tea from Four O’Clock® that highlights lively turmeric and silky coconut.

 Tepache is a traditional Mexican drink made from fermenting pineapple skins in water with sugar. To call it a “pineapple beer” is an oversimplification and a disservice to the delicious beverage. It’s made by harnessing the wild yeast on the skin of pineapples and feeding them just the right amount of sugar to start producing alcohol. While it might sound complicated, it’s easy to do at home and should produce a light alcoholic beverage (3%-4% ABV). The best part is that you only need the skins, so you still have all the fruit to eat as a snack!

A traditional recipe would use just water, but we’re going to jazz it up by utilizing the beautiful Golden Tumeric tea that will add a ton of flavour. Jamaican style of rum is one of my favourite to use because of its distinct “hogo” (a term used to describe its distinct funkiness) compared to other rums. You don’t need to use a lot because it’s going to stand out. While you could use just rum if that’s all you had on hand, I find this cocktail really benefits from splitting its base with Pisco, which is grape distillate that most commonly comes from Peru or Chile, that will round out the profile of this cocktail with both fruity and subtle savoury notes.

Finally, we see yet another example of how I love to use anything but water, “tart coconut water”. We could just take the cocktail as is, dilute it, and bottle it, but why waste an opportunity to add flavour? Using coconut water will build on the already present coconut undertones and the addition of a little acid will balance out the sweetness in this cocktail. Be sure to stop and appreciate the little things in life (even if it’s just a delicious cocktail) because that’s the real dream we’re all living.

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