Potato? In a cocktail? Yup

Back
8th January 2024

Potato? In a cocktail? Yup

So El Dorado rum flows from Guyana where food and rum are a big part of family life, full of traditions. With swizzle recipes and also cookery recipes closely guarded secrets passed down the family line.

I want to welcome everybody in with my cocktail the way a Guyanese grandmother might with a big pot of stew at the dinner table after a long hard day. The national dish of Guyana and the dish I have decided to draw inspiration from is called Pepper Pot and consists of local root vegetables, spices, fruit and goat or other meat. To pull all this together, a preserving agent and seasoning sauce called Cassareep is also added bringing great depth to the dish, It is thick, brown in colour and packed full of rich spices.


So how to start tuning this iconic Guyanese dish into a cocktail....


Firstly I need a back bone and I chosen to select the 15yr old Eldorado as it is big and punchy and will stand up to the strong rich flavours I plan to use.

The Pepper Pot is certainly not a sweet dish so it’s important to me to try and get some of the original savoury flavours into the cocktail. Potatoes aren’t most people’s go to cocktail ingredient but I’m not most people...If you slow roast a sweet potato for a few hours you end up with a sticky pulp that once blended makes an incredible purée, rich in flavour with notes of caramel. This would be the second ingredient.


Mango is one of the most abundant fruits and compliments the rich flavour of the sweet potato and is a very good friend of rum in general so this is my next ingredient, but I don’t want to just add juice, I want to concentrate the flavour. For this I created a syrup soaking 500g of sugar with 2 diced mangos and also the peel of two limes for 48 hours. The sugar sucks out all the juice and oils from the fruits and creates the most magnificent sweet scented syrup.


Now as we know it can’t all be sweet sweet sweet or we would lose the complexity of the rum and end up with a drink that tastes like a melted ice lolly, so I will also add a splash of lime juice a dash of my swizzle stick bitters and finally a spoon of our essential pepper pot ingredient Cassareep.

Pardon the interruption

Did you know that you can become a member for free, taking your cocktail making skills up to level 11. You can save your My Bar ingredients, make tasting notes, have personalised Tried and Want to try lists and more.


Now this dish would usually be cooked in a traditional cast iron skillet and heated over a wood burning stove, so I have sourced a small skillet which will be the perfect size to serve my cocktail in and I have also made it as a sharing cocktail for 2. To add a little smokiness to replicate the cooking process I have decided to smoke the inside of the skillet with swizzle stick, this should give the cocktail a great smoky nose and taste.


Lastly for the garnish I wanted to complete the illusion that this drink really was a meal, so I have made some sweet potato crisps and seasoned them with a vanilla salt and a sprinkle of gold flakes.


Well there you go fingers crossed that will be enough to wow the judges and get me through to the finals....

Filed with tags

More to explore

History of the Kir Royale Cocktail

If there is a classier, more elegant classic cocktail on offer, then we are yet to discover it. The...

Whisky's, Whiskey's and Bourbons.

There are many different whiskeys that you can purchase, but in general there are 4 main categories...

The Definitive Guide to Mastering the Iconic Whiskey Sour Cocktail

Ah, the Whiskey Sour – a timeless classic that has graced bars and cocktail lounges for over 150 yea...

Tag cloud

Explore more with our randomised tag cloud.

Bartender's top tip

Like cooking, making cocktails is a culinary art that benefits from tasting and adjusting. Before serving, taste your cocktail with a straw or spoon and adjust if necessary. Maybe it needs a touch more sweetness, a bit more acidity to brighten it up, or a dilution adjustment. Personalize each drink to your liking, and don't be afraid to stray from the recipe to create something that suits your taste perfectly.

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Get tips straight into your inbox.

Upgrade your mixology

Become a member for free taking your cocktail making skills up to level 11. Or become a premium member to rise to cocktail greatness.

  • Save your bar forever
  • Access to our Cocktail Creator, allowing you to create your own wonderful concoctions.
  • Create personalised cocktail menus for all your events, bars or parties
  • Save cocktails to personalised 'Tried' and 'Want to try' lists
  • Create and record tasting notes on cocktails
  • Create lists of cocktails to share with friends and family
  • A personalised MyBar URL, allowing you to share everything you can make with friends
  • And much more ... (what to buy next, measurement choices, search personalisation...)

Create your own cocktail menu!

Use our interactive cocktail menu creator for free, and create wonderful looking cocktail menus for your next party, gathering or bar.

Great looking pre-built designed themes, group your cocktails, choose what to show on them and a host more options.

Get creating