The Rainbow-jito
Happy Pride month to all of our LGTBQ+ friends! Sending you love and support… and some random chickens sitting on a rainbow perch. YES, WE BUILT THEM A RAINBOW PERCH. And yes, it is being permanently installed in the chicken garden.
Once again, we are joining the amazing Dan Magro on his #pridepour campaign, which seeks to support and raise awareness for the LGTBQ+ community every year through the creation of celebratory Pride-themed cocktails during the month of June. In addition to making and drinking pretty drinks, #pridepour encourages the drinkstagram community to donate, if able, to your favorite LGTBQ+ charity.
A few suggestions:
OutRight Action International: Fighting for LGBTQ+ rights worldwide, especially in countries where there are literally no legal protections for LGTBQ+ individuals.
Trans Lifeline: The first-ever crisis hotline for transgender people (needed now more than ever; attacks and killings of trans people, especially those of color, are at an all-time high).
The Marsha P. Johnson Institute: defending the rights of black transgender people.
It Gets Better Project: providing support, empowerment, and connection to LGTBQ+ individuals.
The Ali Forney Center: the biggest LGBTQ+ youth homeless shelter in the U.S., assisting nearly 1,400 youths per year with meals, medical and mental health services, and housing programs.
The Trevor Project: real-time crisis intervention for LGBTQ+ youth under the age of 25.
Speaking of The Trevor Project, we have brought back our Pride Rooster t-shirt design over on #shopDWC this year. As always, 100% of profits from the sale of every Pride Rooster T-shirt (they come in two styles, PLUS a tank top this year!) go to The Trevor Project in support of crisis intervention and suicide prevention for LGTBQ+ youth.
Let’s make this festive little drink, shall we? It requires some day before prep work, so get after it! (But don’t worry, if you don’t feel like fussing with all the prep work, I’ve got a lazy version below, too).
The Rainbow-jito
Makes 1 serving.
Ingredients:
Approx. 3 oz. sparkling water such as Topo Chico to top drink
1.5 oz. white rum
1 oz. fresh lime juice
1 oz. pineapple juice
.5 oz. agave syrup (if you like your drinks on the less sweet side, omit this, as the liqueurs and melon already bring a good amount of sweetness to this drink).
4 mint leaves, roughly chopped
Sprig of mint + edible fresh bloom for garnish.
2 tbs. of each (instructions to make each of these below):
white rum-soaked diced watermelon
spiced rum-soaked diced cantaloupe
white rum-soaked diced pineapple
Midori liqueur-soaked diced honeydew melon
Blue curaçao-soaked diced honeydew melon
To make enough booze-soaked fruit for a couple of rounds of drinks for two people (make this a few hours ahead or up to 72 hours in advance of using. I find letting them soak overnight is the perfect amount), you’ll need:
1/2 cup finely diced watermelon + 1/2 cup white rum (or enough to cover the diced watermelon in a jar), placed in an airtight container to infuse. Keep refrigerated.
1/2 cup finely diced cantaloupe melon + 1/2 cup spiced rum (I love Malahat Spirits if you can get it, if not, Captain Morgan works for this), placed in an airtight container to infuse. Keep refrigerated.
1/2 cup finely diced pineapple + 1/2 cup white rum, placed in an airtight container to infuse. Keep refrigerated.
1/2 cup finely diced honeydew melon + 1/2 cup Midori Melon Liqueur or other melon liqueur, placed in an airtight container to infuse. Keep refrigerated.
1/2 cup finely diced honeydew melon + 1/2 cup Blue Curaçao liqueur, placed in an airtight container to infuse. Keep refrigerated.
To make the cocktail:
Start by prepping your glass (highball glasses work best for this). You’re going to layer the fruit with either pellet ice (this works best!) or crushed ice. If you are adding agave syrup to your drink for extra sweetness, add this to the bottom of your glass first (or skip this step). Add 2 tbs. of the Blue Curaçao-Honeydew bits to the bottom, then about 2 tbs. of ice. Next, give your mint leaves a light spank in your hand to release the flavor, and add those, followed by another layer of 2tbs. ice. Next add 2 tbs. of the Midori Melon-soaked honeydew. Follow it with ice. Next add 2 tbs. of the rum-soaked pineapple, then more ice. Next, 2 tbs. spiced rum-soaked cantaloupe, then ice. Finally, add the rum-soaked watermelon.
Next, add 1.5 oz. white rum, 1 oz. lime juice, pineapple juice, and top with Topo Chico (approx. 3 oz., depending on your glass and packing skills.
Add a heap of ice to the top of the glass, then garnish with a sprig of fresh mint and an edible bloom.
Serve it layered, but give it a good stir with your straw to mix those flavors up a bit before you drink!
Okay, so you might be thinking….that’s ALAWT of prep work. Cuz: yes. It is. We obviously went to great lengths to give this drink it’s rainbow good lewks. But if you don’t want to go that far with it, there’s definitely a quicker way to do this that still yields a yummy, yummy drink. You can absolutely make this with NO boozy fruit (see instructions below), but I’d definitely like to emphasize that if you can do just ONE type of melon—any type—and soak it in white rum, it adds a nice, fresh, melon essence that is quite worth the trouble.
So. I want to encourage you to pre-soak some type of melon—1/2 cup of diced cantaloupe, honeydew, or watermelon (or a mix of all three), plus 1/2 cup white rum in an airtight container in the fridge. BAM.
Or…don’t. You do you.
Lazy Version: Rainbow-jito
(And just to be clear, it won’t be rainbow-y, but it will still be purdy.) Makes 1 serving.
Ingredients:
Approx. 3 oz. sparkling water such as Topo Chico to top drink
1.5 oz. white rum
1 oz. fresh lime juice
1 oz. pineapple juice (orange juice works well here, too)
1 tsp. spiced rum
1 tsp. Midori Melon Liqueur
1 tsp. Blue Curaçao
2 tbs. rum-soaked melon mixture of your choice (or omit this)
.5 oz. agave syrup (if you like your drinks on the less sweet side, omit this, as the liqueurs and melon already bring a good amount of sweetness to this drink).
4 mint leaves, roughly chopped
Sprig of mint + edible fresh bloom for garnish.
To build the cocktail, add agave syrup to the bottom of a highball glass (skip this step for a less sweet drink).
Add 2 tbs. rum-soaked melon mixture (or skip this step).
Gently slap mint in your hand then add to glass.
Fill glass with pellet or crushed ice.
Add white rum, lime juice, pineapple juice, spiced rum, Midori, and Curaçao. Top with Topo Chico.
Stir, and garnish with mint sprig and edible bloom.
Cheers to Pride—this month, and every month! (And one more shout-out and virtual hug to Dan Magro for putting together this lovely #pridepour project).