Fruity drink

We are just back from a long weekend in Miami. We spent time in South Beach checking out the architecture, exploring the scene at the boutique hotels and dining in as many places as possible to take advantage of the wonderful and varied food. One lunch brought us to the Raleigh hotel which is one of the cuter hotels in my opinion; it is relatively small scale and not as overwhelming as the Delano and has an amazing deco lobby. We had lunch at poolside café and were lured into a fruity drink that we saw the next table order. It turned out that our waiter invented the drink and although the ingredients sounded a little unusual, the combination was amazing. I spent some time reverse engineering the drink at home and I think I’ve got it. What’s great about it is not only the taste but also how pretty and festive the multi-colored layers look. I tried it in a few different shaped glasses and the layers seem to form best when made in a champagne glass; must have something to do with surface tension – who knows. Give it a whirl and pretend it’s not subzero outside!

Ariel Royale

¾ oz tequila
¼ oz triple sec
Pineapple juice
Cabernet
Grenadine

Combine tequila and triple sec with enough pineapple juice to fill champagne glass 2/3-¾ full. Slowly pour in grenadine (to taste / to visual appeal); it will sink to the bottom of the glass and form a red layer). Very slowly pour in cabernet (I transferred some wine to a small pitcher and slowly and gently poured it into the glass in a spiral motion; this is a tricky layer to create). The cabernet should settle both above the grenadine layer and at the very top of the glass.

Serve in layers but stir before drinking to combine flavors – enjoy!