Saxtons River Mai Tai

Saxtons River Mai Tai

Ingredients:

1.5 oz Saxtons River Vodka

.75 oz Fresh Lime Juice

.5 oz Triple Sec

1 oz Orgeat

Maple Caviar Ingredients:

3 oz Saxtons River Sapling Maple Liqueur

1 oz Maple Syrup

¼ Teaspoon Agar Agar

Vegetable Oil

Fresh Mint

Orgeat Ingredients:

83 g Sliced Almonds

Olive Oil

2.5 Cups Simple Syrup

.5 Teaspoon Salt

1.5 oz Orange Blossom Flower Water

4 Oranges

Like most of my drinks, this one is time consuming!  Make sure that you prepare your orgeat and caviar 24 hours in advance!  Once the bulk of the prep is complete making the cocktail is quick and easy.  I decided to go with a play on the classic Mai Tai, because I love the toasty nut flavor and thought it would pair well with Sapling Maple Liqueur.  I also really want to be on the beach!

Let’s start with the orgeat:

1. Toss sliced almonds very lightly in olive oil.  Spread on a tray and put it in the oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

2. Toss the almonds on the tray and put back in the oven for another 10 minutes or so.  Keep an eye on the almonds so they do not burn.  When toasted to your liking, take them out of the oven and put them in a blender.

3. Add simple syrup, salt, and orange blossom flower water and blend until incorporated.

4. Using a vegetable peeler, peel the outer layer of skin from all four oranges.  Place orange peels in the blended nut mixture and refrigerate for 24 hours.  I like to express the oils from the orange peel into the orgeat to maximize on the flavor.

5. Remove from the refrigerator and strain through a fine mesh strainer and cheese cloth to remove any chunks.  The texture should be very smooth with an extremely nutty flavor.

Maple Caviar Instructions:

1. Pour vegetable oil in a tall cylindrical glass vessel.  Make an ice bath for the oil filled vessel.  Place the bowl in the refrigerator.  In making the caviar the oil needs to be very cold.  I recommend putting the oil in the refrigerator for 24 hours even before putting it in the ice bath.

2. Add Sapling Maple Liqueur, brown sugar, and agar agar to a small saucepan and heat up.  You do not need to boil the mixture.  The goal is to melt the sugar and incorporate the agar without cooking down the liquid.  Once all ingredients are dissolved, take it off of the heat and let cool down for 4 minutes.

3. After four minutes pull the oil mixture out of the refrigerator.  Using a dropper, slowly add the maple liqueur mixture to the vegetable oil.  You will notice that the liquid will slowly fall to the bottom of the oil filled vessel forming a perfect sphere.  It is extremely important that your oil is very cold so that when the caviar reaches the bottom of the vessel, it does not alter shape or form into your other caviar spheres.

4. Once the spheres are complete you will need to strain them out of the oil using a fine mesh strainer. 

5. Rinse thoroughly with cold water.

6. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container with a little maple liqueur so they do not stick together.

Saxtons Mai Tai Instructions:

1. In a shaker tin add the vodka, lime juice, triple sec, and orgeat.  Fill the shaker with ice and shake for about 15 seconds or until ice forms on the outside of the container.

2. Strain the shaken cocktail into a collins or rocks glass and fill with fresh ice.

3. Top with maple caviar and a sprig of fresh mint.  Enjoy!