Mango Martini

I'm sure that many of you are quite familiar with mangoes and so this post will be mostly comedy. I say that in light of my recent incorrect assumption that I could figure out how to properly cut open a mango. I'll spare you the gory details but lets just say that I ended up with sticky mango juice on the counter, the floor, my shirt and the dog.

My foray into tropical fruit began when Brian and I recently celebrated our anniversary at a stunning waterfront restaurant called Harvest-on-Hudson. Despite a few debacles, we were treated to a couple of new cocktails including a mango creation that I managed to chug in record speed and promptly order another. That's not like me but it was quite lip-smackingly delicious. Enough so that I wanted to recreate it at home.

Up until then, mangoes were these mysterious oval shaped things in a box on the side of the fruit vendor's cart. I didn't know anything about them so I happily ignored them while scooping up my usual favorites. But now I needed to address this issue with the fruit cart man. I asked him to help me choose a couple of ripe specimens and headed back to my kitchen. An hour later, as I was cleaning mango goop off the dog, I thought it might be wise to consult the internet on the subject.

Mango goop. Don't let this happen to you.

After watching an excellent YouTube video on the subject and a return visit to the fruit cart man, I was back in my kitchen and now able to dispatch a mango in a semi-professional manner. (Translation: this time I managed not to get any on the dog.) I spent the afternoon experimenting and came up with a recipe that, although slightly different than what I enjoyed at the restaurant, is still lip-smackingly delicious. Cheers!

Per Serving:
1 oz. Vodka
1 oz. Rum
3 oz. Mango puree
1/2 oz. Lemon juice
1/2 oz. Simple syrup
1 oz. Scoop of mango sorbet
Handful of fresh mint

To make the mango puree, place peeled and cut mango pieces (see below) into a blender or small food processor with approximately 3 tablespoons of water per mango. Blend until completely pureed. Add 3 oz. of the puree to a cocktail shaker along with the mint and muddle together using a muddler or the back of a wooden spoon. Add the vodka, rum, lemon juice and simple syrup to the shaker and fill with ice.  Shake well and pour into a chilled cocktail glass. Top with a scoop of mango sorbet and garnish with a sprig of mint.

Click here to see the YouTube tutorial on how to cut a mango.