Wishful Thinking

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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 sloe berries, white sugar, and gin, which are blended and infused to develop a tart, slightly sweet berry flavor.

Rhum Agricole: This is a type of rum made in the French Caribbean Islands with fermented sugarcane juice and yeast, which are distilled to develop a grassy, vegetal flavor.

Ginger Syrup: This is a sweetener made with ginger root, white sugar, and water, which are heated and infused into a syrup with a spicy, aromatic flavor.

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

Absinthe: This is a spirit made by distilling a neutral alcohol with wormwood, anise, fennel, and other botanicals to develop a strong, herbal flavor.

Aromatic Bitters: This is a concentrated flavoring made with a blend of herbs, spices, roots, and botanicals, and distilled alcohol, which are macerated or steeped to develop an aromatic, bittersweet flavor.

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

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.

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 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 found in the book Easy Tiki: A Modern Revival with 60 Recipes by Chloe Frechette.