Rancho Azul – Spiritus Rex Hystrix
I have been quite busy lately, so it was hard to keep up the pace of posting. Nevertheless, there is another drink in the spirit of agave month. It features a rather rare Makrut lime eau de vie from Matthias Sievert. On top of that, once again my friend Torben from Trinklaune and I collaborated on this recipe.
Matthias Sievert decided to take the rocky road and distil an eau de vie from the wrinkled citrus fruit. It is labour intensive and the flavour cannot quite be compared to Makrut lime leaves or other citrus fruits. The Hystrix is bottled at an ABV of 42 % ABV.
Lime and not lime
The Hystrix does taste of lime and at the same time has some Makrut lime leave flavours. Additionally, you can find some bitterness reminiscent of some high quality bitter lemon. Furthermore, you will notice curry leave, vanilla and white pith flavour in the bouquet and taste. There is no question that this is a spectacular citrus eau de vie!
Very luxurious Margarita
Torben and I quickly agreed that the Spiritus Rex Hystrix was perfect for a Margarita variation. On top of that, the drink needed a luxurious Curacao so we decided on the Grand Marnier Cuvée du Centinare. Finally, the recipe is rounded off with some saline solution.
2 cl Spiritus Rex Hystrix Makrut Lime Eau de Vie
2,5 cl Grand Marnier Cuvée du Centenaire
3 cl Lime Juice
Shake – strain – chilled Cocktail glass;
Garnish: Lime Twist (Kaffir Lime Twist); Song: Calexico – Rancho Azul;
The ‘Rancho Azul’ starts with classic Margarita notes. However, after a while the strong citrus flavours of the Hystrix come through. The Grand Marnier adds more cognac flavours than usual. All in all, the drink is on the tart side, but this also means that it is very refreshing.
*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 Spiritus Rex.
