Dragon Fruit
Pitaya (aka dragon fruit) is this wicked looking cactus fruit native to Mexico and cultivated in other tropical parts of the world. Here in Los Angeles they can be spotted at your local grocery store (and your cocktail) during the summer season.
While pitaya comes in a variety of odd shapes and colors, the ones most commonly found here are red and white.
The difference between the two really lies in their color. Taste-wise they're pretty much consistently bland; a sort of cross between pear, turnip, and kiwi. Not sweet. Not sour.
We wanted to play around with it in some cocktails and here's a simple recipe you can try at home to really highlight the pitaya in the drink.
DRAGON FRUIT COCKTAIL
In a cocktail shaker add the following:
2oz your favorite clear spirit
1oz dragon fruit puree
1/2oz lemon
1/2oz simple syrup
Shake to chill. Strain over a cocktail glass. Garnish with dragon fruit piece. Enjoy.
We really didn't want to take away from the subtle taste of the pitaya so we kept it pretty simple in order to not over power the drink. Once we've tasted the drink we can have a better understanding of what will pair well with it. We've found sweet flavors work great such as peach, mango, pineapple, honey, etc. You can also play around with different alcohols, although we do recommend keeping it clear.
Cheers.
LA SPEAKEASY
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