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Wishful Thinking Cocktail Recipe
Wishful Thinking Cocktail Recipe

Wishful Thinking

This post contains affiliate links. See my disclosure policy here.

Cocktail History

The Wishful Thinking is a modern tiki cocktail that was created by Julia McKinley at Three Dots & a Dash and Lost Lake in Chicago, Illinois. Unlike other tiki recipes, this relatively low-proof drink uses a base of tart sloe gin and pairs the liqueur with the unique flavors of rhum agricole, spicy ginger, lime, a hint of absinthe, aromatic bitters, and mint.

Cocktail Ingredients

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

Sloe Gin: This is a liqueur made with sloes, sugar, and alcohol. I used Plymouth Sloe Gin.

Rhum Agricole: This is a type of rum made in the French Caribbean Islands that is distilled from freshly squeezed sugarcane juice. I used Clément Rhum Vieux Agricole VSOP.

Ginger Syrup: This is a sweetener made with ginger, white sugar, gum Arabic powder, and water. I made mine using this sous vide recipe.

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

Absinthe: This is a spirit made with anise, wormwood, fennel, botanicals, and alcohol. I used Great Lakes Distillery Amerique 1912 Absinthe Verte.

Aromatic Bitters: This is a food product made with botanicals, herbs, and alcohol. I used Angostura Aromatic Bitters.

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

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 citrus into slices or wheels. 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.

Sale
Anchor Hocking Screaming Tiki Glasses,470 milliliters
Anchor Hocking Screaming Tiki Glasses,470 milliliters
Set of two 16 ounce glasses; Glasses are approximately 6 1/4″ tall and 3″ wide; Commercial grade heavy duty Glassware from Anchor Hocking Company
$12.42 Amazon Prime
OXO Good Grips 3.5 Inch Pairing Knife,Black/Silver,3-1/2-Inch
OXO Good Grips 3.5 Inch Pairing Knife,Black/Silver,3-1/2-Inch
Sturdy, stainless steel blade; Soft, comfortable, non-slip handle ensures a safe grip; Hand wash with warm, soapy water and promptly dry
$13.99 Amazon Prime

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 2024-11-04.

Wishful Thinking Cocktail Recipe

Tasting Notes

This cocktail has the following flavor profile:

Appearance: Candy-red color

• Aroma: Mint, ginger, and berry

• Taste: Sweet-tart sloe gin flavor with notes of rum, ginger spice, and tart citrus

• Finish: Lip-puckering sloe with funky rum

Kendall’s Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Kendall’s Take: “Up until now, I’d only tried two other sloe gin cocktails, and neither one stands out in my mind. This is an incredibly tasty and a very unique tiki drink though. It has a sweet-tart flavor you don’t find in tropical recipes, and although I thought I had learned to steer clear of rhum agricole, its funkiness is much more muted than it was when I used it in the Donga Punch. I imagine if I made this one for friends, they would be hesitant to try it given its rather unknown list of ingredients, but they would be as pleasantly surprised by how delicious it is as I was.”

Recipe

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

Sale
Easy Tiki: A Modern Revival with 60 Recipes
Easy Tiki: A Modern Revival with 60 Recipes
Hardcover Book; Frechette, Chloe (Author); English (Publication Language); 176 Pages – 05/12/2020 (Publication Date) – Ten Speed Press (Publisher)
$11.39 Amazon Prime

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 2024-11-04.

Wishful Thinking

The Wishful Thinking is a modern tiki cocktail that was created by Julia McKinley at Three Dots & a Dash and Lost Lake in Chicago, Illinois. Unlike other tiki recipes, this relatively low-proof drink uses a base of tart sloe gin and pairs the liqueur with the unique flavors of rhum agricole, spicy ginger, lime, a hint of absinthe, aromatic bitters, and mint.

Prep Time 3 mins Assembly Time 2 mins Total Time 5 mins Difficulty: Intermediate Servings: 1 Calories: 335 Best Season: Summer

Ingredients

Method

  1. Add sloe gin, rhum agricole, ginger syrup, lime juice, absinthe, bitters, and cubed ice to a shaker.

  2. Shake for 10-20 seconds.

  3. Strain into a tiki glass over fresh cracked ice.

  4. Garnish with mint sprig.

Frequently Asked Questions

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

Use Monin Premium Wild Berry Syrup in place of the sloe gin, Caleño Non-Alcoholic Dark & Spicy Tropical Spirit in place of the rhum agricole, Lyre’s Non-Alcoholic Absinthe in place of the absinthe, and All The Bitter Alcohol-Free Aromatic Bitters in place of the aromatic bitters 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.