Santa Monica Bay – Reisetbauer Dirndl
This time I am very excited about the product I am presenting to you. There are two reasons for that: First, Reisetbauer has not officially announced the eau de vie yet. Second, the eau de vie is distilled from cornelian cherries a rather unusual and rare fruit. Apart from that, I also have a great cocktail with it to share with you.
To be honest, I cannot share much about the Reisetbauer Dirndl (cornelian cherry) eau de vie with you. What I can tell you is that this is the third cornelian cherry eau de vie I have tried so far. – You know I am a fool for unusual eau de vies! Most cornelian cherries come from the Mostviertel region in Austria. On top of that, the production of the eau de vie is very labour intensive and the yield is low. Therefore, this fruit spirit is rare and valuable.
Wild fruit and marzipan notes
I do not know if I already recognise the typical cornelian cherry taste, but I guess I noticed some similarities between the different eau de vies I tried. You get a lot of overripe fruit notes, some fruit esters and then a distinct fruit pit aromatic. The thing that sets the Reisetbauer Dirndl apart from the others is that you will also find grassy notes, bordering on Rhum Agricole. All in all, the cornelian cherry eau de vie has complex notes with a distinct wild fruit character. If you are an eau de vie nerd like me, you should definitely try it!
Santa Marta variation
To be honest, I was a bit lost with what to mix with the Reisetbauer Dirndl. I already came up with a Brooklyn Lamp and a Manhattan variation with cornelian cherry eau de vies. Luckily, my good friend Torben had the idea to use the fruit spirit in a Santa Marta variation. So, I replaced the cherry eau de vie in the recipe. On top of that, I split the base between white rum and aged Arrak from By the Dutch.
3 cl By the Dutch Batavia Arrack
0,75 cl Reisetbauer Dirndl Eau de Vie
3 cl Lime Juice
2 cl Simple Syrup
Garnish:Lime Twist; Song: Johnossi – Santa Monica Bay;
At first, the “Santa Monica Bay” starts with clear Daiquiri flavours. Yet after a short while, the Arrak and the eau de vie shine through. Both work very well together. Apart from that, the whole drinks rests on a balanced sweet and sour mix. In the end, you also get hints reminiscent of cherries and therefore the variation does not taste completely different than the original.
*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.
