Blushing Banana Daiquiri

The Cocktail Vultures are ever on the prowl for methods and ingredients to facilitate your drinking, and for a long time we’ve been in a quandary about banana drinks. Everyone loves them, but a good banana ingredient can be elusive. Those flavored schnapps-type liquors are too phony-tasting, and just throwing in a fresh banana is a real roll of the dice. Too green and it’s a grassy tummy ache. The just-right banana requires more planning than we are sometimes willing to give — what if you want your banana drink NOW?

We searched our mental database and pulled out a fond memory from childhood: banana baby food. Many of us remember sneaking a jar of this from amongst a younger sibling’s supply of squash and peas — the smooth, slightly-sweet texture, the aroma of fresh bananas. What the hell? We gave it a shot, and we think we have a winner here.

Banana baby food is available everywhere, and there are no artificial ingredients or colors. It’s just a consistent purée of real bananas with a jot of citric acid, and it works perfectly in a blender drink like ours.

The proportions below were built around one six-ounce jar of bananas, and the recipe makes two generous portions of frozen goodness. Remember Mom this Mother’s Day with our delicious, pale pink Daiquiri — after bringing you up, she needs a hefty cocktail!

To a blender, add:

1 6 ounce jar banana baby food
4 ounces silver rum
2 ounces banana liqueur (we used Banane du Brésil)
1 ounce freshly-squeezed lime juice
1 ounce house-made grenadine
1.5 cups crushed ice

Blend on high for a good 20 seconds. Before pouring, you may add a jot of crushed ice to the glass to keep things frosty, and include a straw. Our garnish was an array of tiny stars cut from orange and lemon rinds using an antique aspic cutter.

After all, isn’t your Mom the star of the show?

Always drink responsibly; always drink well.