East 8 Hold Up

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Cocktail History

The East 8 Hold Up is a modern cocktail that was created in 2010 by Kevin Armstrong at Milk & Honey in London, England. Named for an actual robbery that happened to Armstrong in London’s E8 area, the recipe is made by mixing vodka, Aperol, and simple syrup with a combination of tropical flavors, including pineapple, passion fruit, citrus, and mint.

Cocktail Ingredients

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

Vodka: This is a spirit made with grains, vegetables or fruits, and alcohol. I used Chopin Potato Vodka.

Pineapple Juice: This is the liquid juice of a pineapple. I used fresh pineapple juice.

Aperol: This is an apéritif made in Italy with gentian root, rhubarb, cinchona, sugar, and alcohol.

Lime Juice: This is the liquid juice of a lime. I used freshly squeezed lime juice.

Simple Syrup: This is a sweetener made with white sugar and water. I made mine using this stovetop recipe.

Passion Fruit Syrup: This is a sweetener made with passion fruit juice, cane sugar, gum Arabic powder, and benzoic acid. I used Liber & Co. Tropical Passion Fruit Syrup.

Mint Sprig: This is an herb. I used Mojito mint.

Passion Fruit: This is a small and round tropical fruit with a tangy interior flesh.

Bartending Tools

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

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

Boston Shaker: This is used to shake ingredients. I 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. I used the A Bar Above Hawthorne Strainer.

Paring Knife: This is used to cut ingredients. I used the OXO Good Grips 3.5 Inch Paring Knife.

Juicer: This is used to juice citrus. I used the ALEEHAI Manual Fruit Juicer.

Cocktail Pick: This is used to hold the garnish. I used one from the Prodyne Stainless Steel Martini Picks.

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Tasting Notes

This cocktail has the following flavor profile:

• Appearance: Light yellow-ish orange color

• Aroma: Mint and passion fruit

• Taste: Easygoing fruity taste made of slightly bitter Aperol, sweet pineapple, tart lime, and tangy passion fruit

• Finish: Slight alcohol burn with faint bitter notes

Kendall’s Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Kendall’s Take: “I didn’t know what to expect of this recipe, but I definitely did not imagine myself saying, ‘Wow, this tastes exactly like a punch you’d drink at a church baby shower.’ For some reason, one sip of this sent me deep into a core memory and pulled that experience right of my childhood, which is hilarious considering alcohol obviously wouldn’t have been in one of my church’s punches. Overall, the East 8 Hold Up is palatable and would, in fact, make a great boozy punch, but I rated it a little lower because it’s not all that complex. I mostly just got notes of pineapple with some tartness mixed in.”

Recipe

This cocktail recipe was adapted from Steve The Bartender’s Cocktail Guide by Steve Roennfeldt.

This post contains affiliate links, meaning we make a small commission each time you purchase a product using our links. Product images sourced from Amazon Product Advertising API. Amazon affiliate links last updated on 2024-10-14.