If you weren’t already aware, we are in the middle of Fairtrade Fortnight, an initiative that takes a stand against economic injustice to empower farmers and workers in developing countries to escape poverty and improve their lives and livelihoods.
What does this have to do with cocktails? Well quite a lot, as FAIR., the world’s first fairtrade spirits brand, has teamed up with some of Australia’s best bars to promote the cause.
FAIR is an independent spirits brand, dedicated to high-quality products that are sourced ethically and sustainably. Each of the partner venues has created a speciality cocktail from which $1 is going to a program called Asomart, supporting women’s emancipation in Bolivia.
For the event, FAIR has partnered with two main venues for Fairtrade Fortnight – the Waterslide Bar in Melbourne and Pelicano in Sydney’s Double Bay.
Now don’t worry if you can’t get to either of these venues, you can easily donate through the Facebook page. Now as an incentive, to encourage you to do that we have included the recipe and a video to give instruction on how to make one of the featured cocktails – the Kumbaya from Pelicano’s.
Embracing all the best flavours of summer, Arthur Chirac from Pelicano’s created the Kumbaya as his riff on the classic Margarita, with his inspiration coming from his love of the FAIR Kumquat Liqueur.
“I wanted to make something that was really summery,” he said, “so I mixed citrus and coconut flavours. The way they infuse together is really quite complementary, and you almost think you’re drinking a margarita, but then you see the gin, and it’s a really nice pleasant twist”.
Chirac points out that at Pelicanos, we’ve been a huge supporter of the FAIR brand and Fairtrade and what it stands for. Aside from the fact that the brand makes quality products, the Kumquat is made with sugar cane juice rather than processed sugar.
“It’s a really great product, said Chirac. “And best of all, you only have the natural fructose of the Kumquat, and a tiny bit of sugar cane juice, so it’s a lower sugar liqueur which we love”.
Yet the thing that Chirac loves most about the drink that he had made for Fairtrade Fortnight is how simple it is for anyone to make. He points out that even the Coconut Syrup is simple to make, as it is just like making a Simple Syrup but you use Coconut Water instead of regular water.
“This is a cocktail that not only tastes great, is easy to make but also looks quite dramatic with the black salt and coconut rim garnish. The salt is a throwback to the Margarita and we used black salt because it goes so well with the coconut.”
Kumbaya cocktail
Ingredients
45mls (1.5oz) FAIR Gin
20mls (0.6oz) FAIR Kumquat Liqueur
30mls (1oz) Lime Juice
15mls (0,5oz) Coconut Syrup.
Instructions
Add all ingredients to an ice-filled shaker tin. Shake and then fine strain into a cocktail glass – garnish with a black salt and coconut rim.
For more information go to fair-drinks.com and fairtrade.com.au
