Drinks native to the Dominican Republic

I was introduced to two VERY interesting drinks while in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic: Mamajuana and Caipirinha.

While it is the national drink of Brazil, the guide at our resort told us that Caipirinha is a very popular drink in Punta Cana. This is the one drink I ordered most often (besides beer or wine of course). If you like mojitos you will probably like a Caipirinha. Instead of being mint based, this drink features a lot of limes.

THE drink of the Dominican Republic is Mamajuana. Actually, it is thought to be a strong aphrodisiac and we were warned about that from our guide. It is made by placing a bunch of roots and herbs into a jar and then filling it with rum and wine. It sounds nasty but I assure you it wasn't too bad. We ordered one to taste it and it was very spicy and flavorful. It reminded me of something I would want to drink on a cold winter evening in front of the fire, not on the beach!

#99: Le Demon Vert

I specifically purchased The Art of the Bar: Cocktails Inspired by Classics just because Le Demon Vert was listed as #99 on Food & Wine's 100 Tastes to Try. I also don't have a cocktail recipe book and I thought this would be a fun on to add to my collections. I'm not sure if all cocktail books are like this or not, but this particular book has a lot of random ingredients in the drinks. It can get really expensive to buy all these different types of liquor. I spent about $50 on the fixin's to be able to make Le Demon Vert. I decided to make it at Thanksgiving so other's would be around. The problem was nobody liked black licorice! And this drink tastes like black licorice with burning aftertaste (like the sensation you get after drinking straight vodka). We made one and passed it around - everyone took a sip. Unfortunately it didn't go over well as we all decided to keep drinking beer or wine.

Even though this drink was a dud, I'm glad I got the book. There are lots of other interesting recipes in there which I look forward to trying out next time I want to play mixologist.

Le Demon Vert 1 1/2 ounces Broker’s gin 1/2 ounce Absente 1/2 ounce Velvet Falernum 1/2 ounce fresh lime juice 1 black licorice stick Combine 1 1/2 ounces of Broker's gin, 1/2 ounce of Absente, 1/2 ounce of Velvet Falernum and 1/2 ounce of fresh lime juice in an ice-filled shaker and shake until cold. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a black licorice stick.