Passionfruit whiskey sour

The whiskey sour is a classic, and can be made into any manner of different variations, including adding frothy egg white or a float of red wine to make a Boston sour or New York sour, respectively. As long as there is whiskey and citrus, do what you will!

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Is citrus specifically really necessary, though? My little brain got turning, and I thought that the only requirement for the flavor profile must be that it's a tangy fruit that is added. Just so happens that my recent trip to Central Market featured a perusal of the always impressive exotic fruit section (yes, they have SHELVES of exotic fruit), and I found one of my very favorites, the passionfruit. These things come in many varieties, and they had little softer ones and gigantic hard ones from different parts of the world. Since they were both identically and astronomically priced $3.98 for ONE fruit, I picked the big one, although since much of a passionfruit is hollow, I really have no idea if size matters.

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The details:

• Recipe makes one cocktail

• Shopping list:

  • 2.5–3 oz of an excellent bourbon or rye whiskey, preferably with a richer character

  • 1/2 of a large passionfruit

  • 1 oz of simple syrup

  • Ice, and one large ice cube or sphere

• Equipment:​

  • Cocktail shaker​

  • Ounce (or tablespoon) measurement

  • Heavy tumbler or coupé glass

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THE METHOD

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Slicing a passionfruit is sort of awkward, as it has a hard outer shell and is hollow with seeds inside (like a pomegranate, in a way). Take care when slicing it, and make sure the knife is sharp! Slice the passionfruit in half, and scoop out the seeds from one half and put them in a cocktail shaker filled about halfway with ice. This should equal about an ounce and a half of "stuff" including the seed and slime. If it's significantly less, add a little more from the other half of the fruit.

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Add somewhere between 2.5 and 3 oz of bourbon (or rye) and 3/4 to an oz of simple syrup to the shaker. Close and shake vigorously for about 20 seconds. 

 

There is something tricky about straining passionfruit, since there's all the slime attached to the seeds. I recommend using a wire mesh strainer so you have a lot of surface area to avoid clogs.

 

Strain into a heavy tumbler with a big ice cube or sphere. You'll get a delicious, tropical-tasting whiskey sour that has less puckery tang but still beautifully balanced. Try it with many different whiskeys, or maybe add something else, like the aforementioned egg white or red wine, to make a new variation! 

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