balsa raft

2 oz Linie Aquavit
1 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Pineapple Juice
1/2 oz Orgeat
1/2 oz Honey Syrup (1:1)
2 slice Cucumber (approx 1/2 inch)
1 piece Celery (approx 4 inches)
2 dash Bitter Truth Celery Bitters

Muddle cucumber, celery, and bitters. Add rest of ingredients and ice, shake, and strain into a highball glass filled with ice cubes. Garnish with a pineapple leaf and add a straw.

While I was enjoying the last of my Genever cocktail at Vandaag, bartender Alex began to talk to me about the other drinks on the menu. When he mentioned one being like a banana smoothie, I was curious. Especially when he told me that the Balsa Raft does not contain any banana; instead, the ingredients combine to give a banana-like impression. I replied that he could not tell me that without me taking him up on that challenge. As Alex was making the drink, another bartender commented that the Balsa Raft was the first ever Scandinavian tiki drink.

The Balsa Raft presented the pineapple, celery, and cucumber aromas, and Alex was not lying for they did combine somewhat into a banana-like nose. The pineapple continued on into the sip where it mingled with the honey and lemon flavors. Next, the swallow presented the orgeat, cucumber, and aquavit's spice; later in the drink, the celery notes began to appear as well. Indeed, the Balsa Raft was tropical in the front and vegetal on the back in a parallel way as fruity rhum agricole drinks can sometimes come across. Moreover, the creaminess and flavor of the orgeat seemed to bring the whole drink together.