Easter is a time for rebirth and renewal but it can also be a time for readjusting and redefining the way we look at the everyday things in our lives. But more specifically, it can be time for reassessing the way we use the ingredients we put in our cocktails.
A perfect example of this is to recalibrate our definition of liqueurs such as Cointreau. One of the main liqueur on everybody’s home bar, Cointreau is an indispensable liqueur in some of the world’s most beloved cocktails. But no matter whether you are making a Margarita, a Sidecar or a Cosmopolitan, there is a fair chance you have only ever looked at Cointreau as a secondary ingredient in your drinks.
You see most of the time we view Cointreau as a modifier; an ingredient that is there to help or play second-fiddle to the main base spirit. In a margarita that is tequila, in a Sidecar that is Cognac and in a Cosmopolitan it comes second to Vodka. We constantly see this orange liqueur as a crutch for other spirits but never as a dominant spirit in its own right.
Yet Spirits Platform Brand Ambassador Josh O’Brien wants to change all that. He has created an Easter Cocktail that he hopes will shift your perception of Cointreau, while also providing a chocolate and citrus flavour burst that will bring an indulgent and creamy edge to your long weekend.
To prove his point, O’Brien has created the Cotton Tail Fizz, which not only has a fluffy head that could be easily mistaken for a bunny’s tail, but it also uses Cointreau as its base.
“People should play around with Cointreau more as a dominant spirit,” he said. “Even though it’s a liqueur, Cointreau still has an ABV of 40%, so it is in the same realm as a lot of base spirits. Cointreau doesn’t need to just be a modifier. It can be the backbone of any cocktail.”
Reminiscent of a Ramos Gin Fizz, the Cotton Tail Fizz is a delightful mix of citrus and white chocolate flavour. “Those sweet characteristics of the orange, work really well with the white chocolate and the cream,” explained O’Brien. “It’s all about texture and exploring different things. And especially at Easter for me, chocolate has that smooth, velvety texture with that sweetness as well.”
Luckily for all our wrists, the Cotton Tail Fizz doesn’t require the extended amount of shaking for which the Ramos Gin Fizz is famous. Simply by changing the way he shakes the drink, O’Brien says there is a way to ‘cheat’ while still achieving the ‘souffle-like’ head.
“By doing a normal wet shake first, with two or three large chunks of ice, you can achieve the mixing and temperature required, before finishing off with a dry shake. That way you’re able to dry shake harder which allows the egg white to be fully emulsified. Once you’ve shaken it all up and strained it into your glass, the hardest part is the waiting game,” O’Brien said.
“You need to let it sit and settle before you add the soda, so you get that really nice thick foam top. It’s always the question ‘Have I waited long enough?’, or ‘Is it ready yet?’. Fighting your own impatience at this point is probably the hardest part of making this drink.”
Cotton Tail Fizz
Ingredients
- 40ml Cointreau
- 15ml White Cacao (white Chocolate liqueur)
- 15ml Lemon juice
- 15ml Lime Juice
- 20ml Pure cream
- 10ml Egg White
- top with Soda Water
Instructions
Add all ingredients to a shaker and shake with ice, strain out ice and shake again without ice. Pour into a chilled glass without ice, top with soda to create the perfect fluffy top.
Garnish with orange and/or chocolate sprinkles. Alternately add a sprig of mint to create a refreshing contrast.
