Carrot Colada

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Cocktail History

The Carrot Colada is a modern tiki cocktail that was created by Christine Wiseman at Broken Shaker in Los Angeles, California. It was inspired by what Wiseman describes as the city’s obsession with fresh-pressed juices and is made using a unique blend of botanical gin, carrot juice, coconut, Amaro Montenegro, a homemade marjoram and pink peppercorn syrup, and citrus.

Cocktail Ingredients

To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following ingredients:

London Dry Gin: This is a type of gin made by redistilling a neutral spirit with juniper berries and other botanicals without added sweeteners to develop a crisp, dry flavor.

Carrot Juice: This is the liquid extracted from fresh carrots that has a naturally sweet, earthy flavor and vibrant orange color.

Coconut Cream: This is a condiment made with coconut milk and sugar, which are blended into a thick, rich texture with a natural coconut flavor.

Amaro Montenegro: This is a liqueur made in Italy with a blend of herbs, spices, citrus peels, and botanicals, distilled alcohol, water, and sugar, which are blended and infused to develop a bittersweet, aromatic flavor.

Marjoram & Pink Peppercorn Syrup: This is a sweetener made with marjoram, pink peppercorns, white sugar, and water, which are heated and infused into a syrup with an herbal, black pepper flavor.

Lemon Juice: This is the liquid extracted from the flesh of ripe lemons that has a sweet, tangy flavor and light yellow color.

Carrot Ribbon: This is a strip of carrot that has been thinly sliced lengthwise.

Flower: This is an edible flower that can be used as a garnish.

Bartending Tools

To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following bar tools:

Jigger: This is used to measure and pour ingredients. We used the Japanese jigger from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.

Boston Shaker: This is used to shake ingredients. We used the Boston shaker from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.

Hawthorne Strainer: This is used to strain out ice and solid ingredients after the cocktail is shaken. We used the A Bar Above Hawthorne Strainer.

Chef’s Knife: This is used to cut larger fruits and vegetables into slices for the garnish. We used the OXO Good Grips 8-Inch Chef’s Knife.

Paring Knife: This is used to cut citrus into slices or wheels. We used the OXO Good Grips 3.5 Inch Paring Knife.

Juicer: This is used to juice citrus, fruits, and vegetables. We used the ALEEHAI Manual Fruit Juicer for the citrus and the Hamilton Beach Large Juicer for the carrot.

Peeler: This is used to peel the skin off ingredients. We used the OXO Good Grips 2-Piece Peeler Set.

Cocktail Pick: This is used to hold the garnish. We used one from the Homestia Stainless Steel Cocktail Pick Set.

Tasting Notes

This cocktail has the following flavor profile:

• Appearance: Bright carrot orange color

• Aroma: Soft vegetables and coconut

• Taste: Earthy vegetal and botanical gin flavor followed by sweet coconut, savory pepper, and tart citrus

• Finish: Slightly bitter herbal amaro and more coconut

Kendall’s Take: “You know those times when you look at an ingredient list and have absolutely no clue what a drink will taste like? This was one of those for me. I never expected to mix carrot juice, coconut, and gin together, but wow, does the combination work pretty well. The unique marjoram and peppercorn syrup was a nice (and necessary) touch that adds a wealth of complexity. I don’t know that I’ll make it again because it took quite a bit of work to juice the carrots, but I really enjoyed the Carrot Colada much more than I thought I would.”

Recipe

This cocktail recipe was found in the book Easy Tiki: A Modern Revival with 60 Recipes by Chloe Frechette.