Backyard NOLA Swingers

This tangy, citrus cocktail will please the senses. (Grill Nation: 200 Surefire Recipes, Tips and Techniques to Grill Like a Pro,” (2015, Oxmoor House) by Travel Channel’s ‘American Grilled’ host and Chef/Owner of Bayou Bakery, Coffee Bar & Eatery, David Guas.)

This drink was motivated by a visit from my friend Lolis Eric Elie, who knows just about all there is to know about New Orleans and its rich history and culture. In his cookbook, Treme: Stories and Recipes from the Heart of New Orleans, he includes a recipe with a grapefruit and honey base called N’awlins Nectar. When I hosted him at Bayou Bakery, I used his base idea and jazzed it up a bit with fresh rosemary and jalapeños to give it that NOLA spice.

Cook Time:

Prep Time:1 hours5 min

Total Time:1 hours5 min

Servings: 8

Ingredients:

2 cup Wildflower honey

2 quart Grapefruit juice

8, 16 ounce Mason Jars

1 (750-ml.) bottle Dark Rum

8 Fresh rosemary sprigs

1 medium Jalapeno pepper, thinly sliced

Preparation:

Stir together honey and ¾ cup water in a large container. Add grapefruit juice, and stir well; cover and chill about 1 hour.

For each serving, place ice in a Mason jar, filling 2/3 full. Add ¼ cup rum, and fill jar with grapefruit juice mixture. Pour drink into a shaker, and add 1 sprig rosemary and 1 slice jalapeño pepper; cover and shake 10 seconds. Pour mixed drink back into jar; add more ice, if desired.