This is a piña colada send up using Chinaco Blanco Tequila, which is expertly made by Anchor Distilling Company. Chinaco has quickly become one of Chris Lane's, bartender at Lolinda, favorite blanco tequilas, thanks to its notes of salt brine and chalk on the palate.
No sugars are added in its production, so its savory character lends great balance to richer flavors like coconut and vanilla. Piña coladas have seemingly, and sadly, been relegated to the realm of being a joke drink, something not to be taken seriously and only to be consumed as a guilty pleasure, away from the prying eyes of serious bar goers and avid spirits enthusiasts. Luckily this stigma is changing and finally the drink is getting recognized exactly for what it is: delicious. This version has a little more in common with a tequila sour than its rummy big daddy, but you get the idea.
The Bossa Nova
2 oz Chinaco Blanco
1/2 oz lemon juice
1/2 oz pineapple gum (small hand foods)
1/4 oz vanilla syrup*
1/2 oz coconut cream**
1/2 oz egg white
grated cinnamon
Combine all ingredients in a shaking tin or mixing glass and vigorously shake without ice, for ten seconds. Add ice, and shake for another eight seconds. Strain over large ice cube or into a cocktail glass and add freshly grated cinnamon on top.
*Vanilla syrup: Split one vanilla pod length wise and scrape interior into a heavy sauce pan. Add two cups of raw sugar and two cups of water. Bring to a simmer and reduce heat to low. Cook for five minutes and stir occasionally. Remove from heat and keep unstrained for 24 hours. Strain through a cheese cloth and bottle. Will keep for two weeks.
**Coconut cream: Combine one part Coco Lopez with one part rich coconut milk (the kind you find in the Asian foods section in the grocery store) mix well.