Occasional Rain – Reisetbauer Aronia
There is one last tropical drink I did not manage to write about during Tropical Month. This cocktail inspired by the Hurricane and another drink I found on Instagram, uses a very rare eau de vie. While this was clearly intended to be enjoyed neat, it is also fun to use it together with other high quality ingredients in a drink.
Amongst eau de vie enthusiasts Reisetbauer does not need an introduction. The name is directly associated with exceptional eau de vies distilled from mashed fruits. In this case, we are taking a closer look at the aronia eau de vie. This rather unkown fruit came from America in around 1900. After the harvest in autumn, it takes around 35 kg of berries for one litre of eau de vie. Apart from that, fermentation takes place at around 18 °C.
Marzipan and wild fruit notes
I have to admit I am no expert when it comes to aronias. So far I only had some aronia lemonade which is a great mixer. However, the eau de vie tastes a bit different. The first thing you will notice is a strong seed note, reminding me of marzipan. Apart from that, the eau de vie is reminiscent of wild fruit spirits, like rowan berries. Add a little bit of cherry, grassy notes and some bee’s wax and you have yourself a rather unconventional, but highly complex and interesting eau de vie!
A twist on a Hurricane twist
When pondering about what to do with the aronia eau de vie, I coincidentally saw a Hurricane variation by Serge from Hungrythirstybored. In the “La Tempête” he used a homemade aronia liqueur. Quickly I decided, to create my own version of his drink. I kept the brandy element, skipped the aged rhum and of course added the aronia spirit. Furthermore, I added homemade bitters, which I made from the leftover spices when making the aromatic water for the Negroni Code.
1,5 cl Reisetbauer Aronia Berry Eau de Vie
3 Dashes Homemade Code Bitters
3 cl Lime Juice
2,25 cl Blood Orange Juice
2,25 cl d’Arbo Orange & Passionfruit Syrup
Float 1,5 cl Quinta de la Rosa Tawny Port
Garnish: Orange Twist;
Song: The War on Drugs – Occasional Rain;
It probably should not come as a surprise, but the Reisetbauer Aronia stands up to the other ingredients very well. The wild fruit and marzipan notes are beautifully integrated into the cocktail, while the brandy acts as a supporting actor. Moreover, the passionfruit syrup and citrus juices also work very well in the mix and give the drink structure. Apart from the bitters, which can also be replaced by orange bitters in combination with chocolate bitters, the port wine float adds a little extra.
*The fact that I received a product reviewed in this article for free, did not – in any way – influence the rating of said product. The eau de vie was provided by Reisetbauer.
