Pitaya or Dragon Fruit, is known for its beautifully colored flesh, is an alluring fruit that one would expect to have an equally alluring flavor. On the contrary. Dragon Fruit delivers a very subtle, dare we say bland, taste that leaves a lot to be desired even at it’s ripest state. Thankfully, we were able to make a delish and creative gin cocktail we call Dragon Queen.
Ingredients:
2 oz. Hendrick’s Gin
1/2 oz. Cognac
1/2 oz. Trip Sec
1 1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice
1 oz. Pitaya syrup*
1 egg white (Pasteurized)
Add all ingredients into a shaker with ice. Shake for 30 seconds. Strain into another shaker without ice and give a dry shake for about 1 minute. Strain into a highball glass over fresh ice. Garnish with a lime and cucumber slice and serve with a metal straw.
* To make the Pitaya syrup take one cup water and 1/2 cup of your sweetener choice (we used 1/2 agave 1/2 brown sugar) and bring to a boil. Once sugar is dissolved, turn down the flame and add cut up pieces of pitaya. Let simmer for about 10 minutes or until all large chunks has decreased in size. Remove from flame and let cool then run the syrup through a cheese cloth. Refrigerate over night or up to 2 weeks.