Cherimoya fruit, a favorite of Mark Twain

Just about this time in January is when the wonder of winter wears off for me.  Of course, we've got months of it yet, but no longer are we dreaming of sugarplums and shimmering ice palaces, of Santa Claus coming down the chimney while the Grandfather clock chimes ten and snow falls gently outside.  No, it's a new year and we're back to work, probably fighting with some diet or gym membership, and all of that gently fallen snow has turned into piles of brown sludge, piled up on the sidewalk all mixed with road salt and oil.  The very idea of trudging through it is enough to send anyone daydreaming of a warm vacation in pleasant Polynesia, barefoot in the warm sand while tradewinds softly blow, sipping on something exotic and tropical.

Good news is, regardless of what the weather is doing outside, a tropical drink is now close at hand.  This cocktail features Old Ipswich White Cap Rum from Turkey Shore Distilleries in Ipswich, MA, and the cherimoya fruit, native to Central and South America.  Mark Twain purportedly christened the tortoise shell looking fruit "The most delicious fruit known to men" in a letter from Hawai'i in the 1860s.  The flesh of the fruit is sweet, rich and creamy with a hint of nutmeg, giving it the alternate name of custard apple.

Honu Honu cocktail, named for the majestic sea turtles of the Hawai'ian islands 

HONU HONU

2 oz Puréed Cherimoya fruit 
2 oz Old Ipswich White Cap Rum
0.75 oz Lemon Juice
1 oz Sweetened Condensed Milk
Nutmeg, for garnish

Cut off the bottom of the fruit and scoop out the interior, being careful not to break the outer skin.  Separate the dark seeds from the creamy fruit.  Blend fruit until smooth.  Use 2 oz of the fruit purée, add rum, lemon juice, condensed milk and ice; blend.  Pour into the fruit shell and garnish with cherries and freshly grated nutmeg.  Serve with straws.

Cheers!  May your dreams of tropical paradise soon come true.  I'll see YOU there!

-- Suzanne