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Elusive Dreams Cocktail Recipe
Elusive Dreams Cocktail Recipe

Elusive Dreams

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Cocktail History

The Elusive Dreams is a modern tiki cocktail that was created by Demi Natoli in Nashville, Tennessee. It’s a variation of the Hotel Nacional that uses the unexpected flavor of rich banana liqueur in place of the traditional recipe’s apricot brandy, and it also mixes a touch of cinnamon syrup with the classic’s rum, pineapple, and lime.

Cocktail Ingredients

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

Pineapple Rum: This is a type of rum made with pineapple, molasses or sugar cane juice, and alcohol. We used Plantation Stiggin’s Fancy Pineapple Rum because it has a rich rum taste with notes of tropical fruits, citrus, and cloves. For a mocktail version of this drink, try homemade pineapple syrup in place of the pineapple rum.

Dark Rum: This is a type of rum made with sugarcane, spices, and water that has been barrel aged for a long period of time. We used Appleton Estate Special Gold Rum because it has a delicious rum flavor with notes of vanilla and baking spices. For a mocktail version of this drink, try Caleño Non-Alcoholic Dark & Spicy Tropical Spirit in place of the rum.

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

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

Cinnamon Syrup: This is a sweetener made with cinnamon sticks, white sugar, gum Arabic powder, saline solution, and water. We made ours at home using Alex’s sous vide recipe.

Banana Liqueur: This is a liqueur made with bananas, vanilla extract, sugar, and alcohol. We used Drillaud Banana Liqueur because it has a tangy and bright flavor. For a mocktail version of this drink, try Monin Premium Banana Syrup in place of the banana liqueur.

Pineapple Slice: This is pineapple flesh that has been cut into a slice.

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.

Pineapple Corer: This is used to remove the core of the pineapple before it’s juiced. We used the OXO Good Grips Stainless Steel Pineapple Corer.

Paring Knife: This is used to cut ingredients. 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 lime and the Hamilton Beach Large Juicer for the pineapple.

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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 2024-10-03.

Tasting Notes

The Elusive Dreams begins with aromas of banana and pineapple and features a great combination of the tastes of rum, pineapple, and citrus before finishing with the lingering spice of cinnamon and the sweet aftertaste of banana.

Alex’s Take: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
“This cocktail was seriously great! I love the surprisingly bold banana flavor it has, which gives some funkiness to the otherwise fairly sweet mixture. The cinnamon syrup is able to give it just a hint of spice, but I love my spiciness so I might consider adding some bitters to the mixture next time to deepen that aspect of it and balance all of the sweetness a bit. Overall a great drink for me, but honestly one you may not love if you don’t like banana.”

Kendall’s Take: ⭐⭐
“The Hotel Nacional is one of my top ten favorite cocktails; it might even be my all-time fave for poolside sipping if I had to pick just one. That said, I really, really wanted to like this riff, but I just didn’t love the addition of banana to a cocktail I already consider perfected. The taste reminded me of the Banana Laffy Taffy I used to eat as a kid, and once I made that association, I couldn’t drink much more of it. I’ll be sticking to the classic formula with apricot brandy.”

Recipe

This cocktail recipe was adapted from Easy Tiki: A Modern Revival with 60 Recipes by Chloe Frechette.

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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 2024-10-03.

Elusive Dreams

The Elusive Dreams is a modern tiki cocktail that was created by Demi Natoli in Nashville, Tennessee. It’s a variation of the Hotel Nacional that uses the unexpected flavor of rich banana liqueur in place of the traditional recipe’s apricot brandy, and it also mixes a touch of cinnamon syrup with the classic’s rum, pineapple, and lime.

Prep Time 3 mins Assembly Time 2 mins Total Time 5 mins Difficulty: Intermediate Servings: 1 Calories: 365 Best Season: Summer

Ingredients

Method

  1. Add pineapple rum, dark rum, pineapple juice, lime juice, cinnamon syrup, banana liqueur, and cubed ice to a shaker.

  2. Shake for 10-20 seconds.

  3. Strain into a cocktail glass.

  4. Garnish with pineapple wedge.

Frequently Asked Questions

Expand All:
How do I make this cocktail recipe non-alcoholic?

Use homemade pineapple syrup in place of the pineapple rum, Caleño Non-Alcoholic Dark & Spicy Tropical Spirit in place of the dark rum, and Monin Premium Banana Syrup in place of the banana liqueur to try a mocktail version of this drink.

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About The Author

Kendall is the creator of Novel Nightcaps, a mixology blog chronicling recipes she tries from her cocktail book collection.