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.

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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.

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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."

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Recipe

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