Shared by Rolex
Bartender at Mara Plains Camp, Kenya
Inspiration of this Cocktail Recipe
The creation of this cocktail was inspired by my early interest in bar knowledge, back when I was a waitress intern. The bartender would often let me pop the sparkling wine whenever he made a French 75 for one of the guests.
That cocktail stuck with me. It was the one drink on the menu I remembered well, and I confidently upsold it because I knew exactly what it entailed.
I wanted to create a twist on the French 75 that reflects who we are and where we come from, using ingredients made and found in the Maasai Mara and Kenya at large, while still offering guests a familiar yet unique experience.
The dessert is inspired by the Balanites tree, which grows only in the Mara, and is sweet and sour. The Maasai community recognises it for its nutritional and medicinal value and even provides food for wildlife during the dry season. I use it in place of lime juice. Maasai-harvested honey replaces the usual sugar syrup, and for the gin, I’ve chosen the award-winning 2023 Best Gin – Procera – distilled from juniper berries grown in the fertile lands of our very own Mount Kenya region. The cocktail is then topped with a premium sparkling wine from South Africa.
Ingredients
- 15ml of Unripe Dessert date extract syrup
- 15ml of Maasai honey
- 30ml of Procera gin
- 30ml of South African Dry Sparkling wine
Preparation
- Peel the desert dates
- Bring to a boil in a pot till a fine, consistent liquid is formed
- Double strain and cool
- Garnish the rim of the glass with the procera botanical salt and chill the glass
- In a shaker, add your measured ingredients, apart from the sparkling wine
- Add ice
- Shake 10-15 times
- Serve in a chilled champagne flute with a garnished rim
- Top up with the sparkling wine
Mocktail version
- 30ml of Unripe Dessert date extract syrup
- 30ml of Maasai honey
- 15ml of Juniper berry syrup
- Top up with soda water
