El Gallito (Pineapple-Chipotle Pitcher Cocktail) Recipe
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Why It Works
- The base spirit is flexible: Vodka lets the drink’s vivid flavors shine, but the mix is also good with reposado tequila.
- The solids that you strain off the blended mixture become a fresh, spicy salsa that’s excellent with chips.
This rare treasure, an umami-rich sweet/salty/smoky chipotle number from Matthew McKinley Campbell of Comal in Berkeley, California, and A Mano in San Francisco, balances juicy pineapple with grassy, green cilantro. It straddles the line between sweet and savory: A handful of cherry tomatoes tamps down the fruity flavor without pushing the drink into full-on Bloody Mary territory.
Reprinted with permission from The One-Bottle Cocktail: More Than 80 Recipes With Fresh Ingredients and a Single Spirit by Maggie Hoffman, copyright © 2018. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House.
Recipe Facts
Ingredients
- 25 fresh cilantro stems, with leaves
- 2 scallions, top third of greens removed
- 8 cherry tomatoes
- 1 cup diced fresh pineapple
- 8 ounces (240ml) fresh lime juice
- 5 ounces (150ml) water
- 4 ounces (120ml) undiluted agave nectar
- 1 ounce (30ml) adobo sauce from canned chipotles
- Pinch kosher salt
- About 24 ounces (720ml) vodka (see note)
- 12 cocktail picks, each with 1 cherry tomato half, for garnish
Directions
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Slice cilantro and scallions into 3-inch segments, then add to a blender along with tomatoes, pineapple, lime juice, water, agave nectar, adobo sauce, and salt. Process until smooth. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a large measuring cup. (You can reserve the solids to make into a salsa, if desired.)
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Measure the liquid mix (it should yield about 24 ounces) and pour into a 2-quart pitcher or resealable container along with an equal volume of vodka. If not serving right away, refrigerate for up to 3 hours.
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When ready to serve, stir mixture well, then add 1 1/2 cups ice to pitcher and give it another gentle stir. Pour into ice-filled rocks glasses and garnish each one with a speared cherry tomato half.
Special equipment
Blender, fine-mesh strainer or chinois
Notes
Try reposado tequila instead of vodka for a slightly richer, more herbal beverage.