Today I would like to introduce a drink that is the result of an experiment. Actually, I wanted to experiment a little bit in the Tiki segment – and while on the one hand I was looking for a blueberry themed cocktail, on the other hand I was also eager to use some rather unusual, Italian ingredients. The result is the present, rather crazy cocktail, which is named Tiki Radicale.

I don’t really remember what was guiding me during the creation process of today’s cocktail. It basically follows the characteristics of numerous Tiki drinks, even if some of the ingredients are rarely found in such drinks. The starting point was the Gagliardo Bitter Radicale, an Italian bitter liqueur made from herbs, roots and spices from the Distilleria Schiavo. I really have a penchant for bitter aromas and the wonderful spicy and bitter orange tones of the Bitter Radicale convinced me from the beginning. Blueberries, on the other hand, are not necessarily the most classic of all imaginable partners for oranges, but both fruits work well together – if you put them in the right frame.

I have to admit, however, that I had to noodle around for quite a while with the final formula until it was able to convince me completely. After all, my wife was so impressed with the drink that she simply tore it from my hands. And since she is usually a very critical cocktail drinker, that was a very good sign for me. For the Tiki Radicale I infused some Clément Canne Bleue Rhum Agricole with fresh blueberries and mint and added a little Mirtilli Mercati (an Italian blueberry liqueur), Gagliardo Bitter Radicale, King’s Ginger Liqueur and Galliano L’Autentico. Spicy lime juice, a little orange juice, a dash of grenadine and a bit of the Bitter Truth Violet Liqueur round off the drink.

This may sound like a crazy list of ingredients (what it admittedly is), but the result is really great: multi-layered, fragrant with numerous intertwining taste impressions and a nice bitterness. A Tiki-Drink which does not really fit into a Caribbean-Polynesian setting but definitely is to my very liking.

Recipe “Tiki Radicale”:

4 cl Clément Canne Bleue infused with blueberries and mint (see below)
1.5 cl King’s Ginger Liqueur
0.75 cl Gagliardo Bitter Radicale
0.75 cl Galliano L’Autentico
0.75 cl Mirtilli Mercati blueberry liqueur
2 cl of orange juice
2 cl lime juice
1 cl Grenadine
1.25 cl The Bitter Truth Violet Liqueur

Clément Canne Bleue infused with blueberries and mint: Add a handful of blueberries and half a handful of mint leaves into 250 ml of Clément Canne Bleue and let infuse for at least 48 hours. Then filter twice through a filter cloth and fill into a bottle.

Preparation: Shake all ingredients vigorously on ice and pour into the glass filled with crushed ice.

Glass: Tiki-Mug (I opted for the poly-glass from Jakobsen Design as an alternative)

Garnish: fresh mint

Buying sources: At specialized retailers or online.