Bocadillo Sour · Blossom Bar

Cocktail from Blossom Bar | Best Restaurants in Brookline
By Eric Twardzik · 03/23/2018

Will Isaza, bar manager at Brookline’s Blossom Bar, thought back to a favorite childhood snack when creating the Bocadillo Sour.

“In Europe [a bocadillo] is a little sandwich, but in South America it’s an hors d’oeuvre, usually something sweet paired with something salty,” Izasa says. “When I was growing up it was a piece of guava paste and cheese on a toothpick.”

Isaza built on the classic mojito template, using silver rum, lime juice, simple syrup, and mint. The drink’s distinguishing factors are its guava paste-infused rum and mascarpone cheese.

For the uninitiated, guava paste is a sweet slab made of fruit, sugar, and pectin that Isaza likens to “a really thick Fruit Roll-Up.” As an alternative to the infusion, Isaza says that a single one-inch cube can be muddled into the shaker as the drink is made.

The bocadillos Isaza enjoyed in Colombia were made with salty cheeses, which wouldn’t translate well in the cocktail. Instead, Isaza has opted for mascarpone, which has a similar texture to an egg white, with less viscosity.

The cocktail certainly drinks like a mojito: It’s refreshing, fruity, and acidic. Yet there’s also a light creaminess and a final rich note of mascarpone. Taking a bite of its guava paste garnish, immediately followed by a sip of the cocktail, is highly recommended.

Bocadillo Sour
2 ounces guava paste-infused rum*
1 ounce lime juice
1 ounce simple syrup
1 teaspoon Vermont Creamery Mascarpone
2 mint leaves
Additional mint sprig and cube of guava paste, to garnish

Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake, then double strain into a highball glass and fill with crushed ice. Garnish with fresh mint sprig and small guava paste cube on toothpick.

*Guava paste-infused rum
1 bottle Bacardi Carta Blanca Rum
8 ounces guava paste

Add ingredients to blender and pulse until mixture has reached a chunky (not smooth) consistency. Allow mixture to sit for two hours, then strain back into bottle or sealed container. Keeps indefinitely.

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