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 fermented grains or potatoes and water, which are distilled and then filtered to develop a clean, neutral flavor.

Pineapple Juice: This is the liquid extracted from the flesh of ripe pineapples that has a sweet, tangy tropical flavor and bright yellow color.

Aperol: This is a liqueur made in Italy with a blend of bitter orange, rhubarb, herbs, and roots, distilled alcohol, water, and sugar, which are blended and infused to develop a bright, bittersweet flavor.

Lime Juice: This is the liquid extracted from the flesh of ripe limes that has a zesty, sour flavor and light green color.

Simple Syrup: This is a sweetener made with white sugar and water, which are heated into a syrup with a sweet flavor.

Passion Fruit Syrup: This is a sweetener made with passion fruit pulp, white sugar, and water, which are heated and infused into a syrup with a tropical, fruity flavor.

Mint: This is an herb made from the leaves of the mint plant, which are harvested and used for their cool, aromatic flavor.

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

Brands I Used

• 🔗 Chopin Potato Vodka
• 🔗 Aperol
• 🔗 Liber & Co. Classic Pure Cane Gum Syrup
• 🔗 Liber & Co. Tropical Passion Fruit Syrup

Bartending Tools

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

Bar Mat: This is a rubber or silicone mat that’s placed on the bar surface and used for catching spills, providing grip for glasses and tools, and keeping the workspace clean and organized.

Jigger: This is a small double-sided tool with different volume measurements on each side that’s used for accurately portioning ingredients.

Boston Shaker: This is a two-piece cocktail shaker made with a large metal tin and a second tin or mixing glass that’s used for shaking and chilling cocktail ingredients.

Hawthorne Strainer: This is a flat metal strainer with a handle and a coiled spring around the edge that’s used for straining shaken cocktails from a shaker while holding back ice and solids.

Cutting Board: This is a flat, durable kitchen surface made from materials like wood or plastic that’s used for slicing ingredients and preparing garnishes.

Chef’s Knife: This is a large kitchen knife with a broad, sharp blade that’s used for chopping and slicing ingredients.

Pineapple Corer: This is a kitchen tool with a circular cutting blade that’s used for coring and slicing pineapples into rings or chunks.

Big Mouth Juicer: This is a kitchen appliance with a wide, bowl-shaped reamer and deep reservoir that’s used for efficiently extracting juice from large fruits.

Paring Knife: This is a small kitchen knife with a narrow, sharp blade that’s used for peeling fruit and trimming garnishes.

Electric Citrus Juicer: This is a kitchen appliance with a motorized reamer that’s used for quickly extracting juice from citrus fruits.

Fine Mesh Strainer: This is a mesh metal strainer with a tightly woven bowl and handle that’s used for straining out small ice shards and other solids while pouring cocktails from a shaker or mixing glass.

Measuring Cup: This is a kitchen tool with a handled cup and marked volume measurements that’s used for accurately measuring and pouring liquid ingredients.

Cocktail Pick: This is a small, slender skewer made from metal, wood, or bamboo that’s used for holding cocktail garnishes in place.

Lowball Glass: This is a short, wide glass with a thick base that’s used for serving cocktails with ice or spirits neat.

Tools I Used

• 🔗 A Bar Above 18×12 Premium Bar Mat
• 🔗 A Bar Above Stainless Steel Japanese Jigger
• 🔗 A Bar Above Stainless Steel Boston Shaker
• 🔗 A Bar Above Stainless Steel Hawthorne Strainer
• 🔗 OXO Good Grips 2-Piece Cutting Board Set
• 🔗 OXO Good Grips 8-Inch Chef’s Knife
• 🔗 OXO Good Grips Stainless Steel Pineapple Corer
• 🔗 Hamilton Beach Big Mouth Juicer
• 🔗 OXO Good Grips 3.5 Inch Paring Knife
• 🔗 BLACK+DECKER 32 oz Electric Citrus Juicer
• 🔗 Barfly Silver Stainless Steel Fine Mesh Cocktail Strainer
• 🔗 OXO Good Grips 2 Cup Angled Measuring Cup
• 🔗 Prodyne Stainless Steel Cocktail Pick Set

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 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 found in the book Steve The Bartender’s Cocktail Guide by Steve Roennfeldt.