Cocktail: Purple Cloud

First the recipe (with some variations):

Purple Cloud

1 oz Sambazon organic açaí juice (original)
1 oz natural coconut water
1 oz ginger ale (Reed's Extra Ginger Brew Ginger Beer)
1 oz real lemonade (Trader Joe's) or cranberry-grape juice
1 oz vodka
1 oz brandy, cointreau, or vodka
A cloud of half-and-half

Swirl in a tumbler with a couple ice cubes and strain into a martini glass.

This was an effort to recreate the eco-tini I had had at the Grand Californian lounge over the holidays. The eco-tini uses VeeV liqueur, which is açaí infused, as its primary spirit. When I tried to find this at Whole Foods, I was surprised to learn that they do not carry it, perhaps because, the employee I spoke to explained, it contains additives or impurities inconsistent with Whole Foods' organic policy.

Being that I was at Whole Foods when I hit this unforeseen obstacle, I figured I'd just track down some açaí berry juice or oil or extract or something, and handle the "infusion" myself. I found the juice aisle and after scanning the shelves for a couple minutes, I found it! In the lower right-hand corner of the aisle. An 8 oz bottle of pure açaí juice: $30!

That was definitely outside my budget, given the fact I wasn't even sure how it tasted in its pure form (I entertained terrors of raw cranberries). But I was still at Whole Foods. So my instincts told me that somewhere in this magnificent emporium I should be able to find a naturally sweetened, affordably priced, single-serving size of açaí juice drink. Sure enough, over in the refrigerated drinks aisle, I found the Sambazon juice.

The Sambazon product has the added benefit of using agave nectar as its sweetener, which allow me to put back the little bottle of agave nectar I had picked up over in the honey section and save $12.

I also bought an organic ginger drink. But I abandoned that in early trials for the Reed's Ginger Beer, which adds a little more zing.

The half-and-half was the final touch. The cocktail is not bad without it. But it has a muddy purple color (the eco-tini is cloudy clear) and has no linger in the mouth. The half-and-half even out the coloring (giving it the lighter color of cotton candy) and provides it more (I'm going to attempt to coin a new food-snob expression here, forgive me) "legacy on the palate."

All in all, a happy success.