Healthy Hawaiian Cocktail

I want to start by addressing the elephant in the room…on the screen?…wherever the elephant is I am going to address it. I don’t actually think this drink is healthy for you. Shocked? Well, here is a secret…anyway you dress up alcohol it still isn’t spinach or chia seeds. Sorry! 

That being said, there are certainly healthier ways to partake of the nectar of the Gods. In this recipe I used On Guard, the protective blend by doTERRA, and as this blend is commonly used during the cold and flu season to fight off or keep away those cold bugs I decided to call this ‘healthy’. Additionally, this drink is made with tequila which is known as the healthiest of alcohols – at least when it is a purely produced tequila. So okay, I have convinced myself, maybe this drink is healthy.

Tequila is steadily gaining popularity as the alcohol of choice because it’s production quality is steadily increasing and the ‘crazy’ side effects are being significantly reduced. If you are drinking good tequila you can actually significantly reduce your chances of the hangover you got with that college tequila; if, however, you are still buying the $4 bottle of tequila then this lovely benefit is not promised and you should really look into an upgrade! 
I recently got the opportunity to showcase the Casamigos tequila at the launch party of the new mixers and salts that they co-branded with Williams & Sonoma. Yes, that party was as cool as it sounds and the tequila is amazing! I find that one of the best aspects of being an event bartender is I get introduced to liquors I would not have necessarily found otherwise – the Casamigos tequila is absolutely fantastic and I would strongly recommend their Reposado tequila in this recipe (I am not getting paid – yet – for this promotion, I just really liked the tequila!) 
Ok, I guess this is enough of my rant on tequila; let’s get into the recipe. 

I love pineapple. I like it fresh, I like it canned, I like it juiced, and I like it in my cocktails. There is something about the acidic sweet that really harmonizes well with alcohol and it plays so nicely with other flavors. I walked into Whole Foods the other day and saw that pineapples were on sale, obviously, I grabbed some. I guess that seeing them on my counter combined with thoughts of a pending Hawaii trip brought this cocktail to life. 
I had been experimenting with some pineapple moonshine and I actually started this cocktail with that as my alcohol. It turned out that the moonshine was too strong on the nose and overpowered the other flavors in this drink. I decided to switch it out for the tequila and that really brought a nice balance into the drink. I had also started with lemon juice instead of lime, but at Emily’s suggestion, I switched that over. Lime goes better with tequila anyway and let’s face it, she was right we needed something green in the photos rather than just another yellow item! 

We found a very interesting phenomenon with this cocktail. When you first mix it up the foam will be bright yellow and the liquid will be pale – almost like lemon juice. After a minute or two the yellow somehow transfers into the liquid and the foam goes white. I have no idea why, but let this rest a minute after making it and then pour it into the glasses to give a better color presentation. I used a blender and added an egg white to the recipe to make the foam really nice and stick around while I drank the drink. With the added egg white it creates a delicious pineapple meringue, YUM! The pineapple juice will create a natural foam without the egg white, but it is just a little more dramatic and longer lasting with it. Let’s face it, when it comes to craft cocktails dramatic is usually better than not! 

If you use a shaker tin make sure you add some ice and shake it for a while to get the foam to activate – this is probably the better method for smaller batches too. To get the foam to really come along you will want to shake it for 30-45 seconds. In the blender, I blended it for about the same amount of time and then let it rest for a minute (color transfer, remember) I gave it a quick stir with a spoon and then poured it into the glasses. This stirring removes some of the larger bubbles from the foam and gives a nice smooth presentation when it is poured. In either case, simply add all of the ingredients to your mixing apparatus and shake/blend well. Let it rest and strain (if using the tin) and pour it into a coupe glass. Garnish with two alternating pineapple wedges on skewers and two pineapple leaves. 

Happy mixing!