Girl Scout Cookie Cocktails, Part 1
This is not a drill: Girl Scout Cookie season can be year-round if you know how to make a cocktail that tastes just like them!
And lucky for you, we have a Samoa Cocktail that fits the bill!
You can search to see when cookies will be available at retail areas near you if you need more than just a cocktail!
Before I created this cocktail, I needed to break down the Samoa’s anatomy, and take a look at the ingredients on the back of the box. While I loved these cookies as a kid, they have a distinct taste of palm oil about them, and I didn’t want to recreate that in a cocktail.
And of course most recipes for other Samoa cocktails out there are made with cheap coconut rum, or fake chocolate flavoured syrup, or even….(shudder) fake-tasting caramel vodka? But we can do better!
At HOLLOW LEG, we're all about using good quality ingredients, and in this cocktail is where they shine!
This gorgeous little number is inspired by my personal favourite, the Samoa, which, according to Wikipedia, are "Vanilla cookies coated in caramel, sprinkled with toasted coconut and laced with chocolate stripes."
I don't know about you, but when it comes to both cookies and cocktails, I'm no longer impressed by the fake stuff. Palm oil in my cookies? No thanks. Cheap coconut rum? Can't we do better?
At HOLLOW LEG, we're all about using the best products sourced from awesome folks, and this cocktail has none of the fake stuff. With the Liquid Cookie, you'll taste the difference because it's made with the best ingredients...some of which will surprise you!
the spirit (COCONUT) base
Samoas are known for their coconutty goodness. Instead of using something filled with artificial flavours, there are two options you can use (based on availability in your area).
Grappa, is a liquor made from the leftovers of wine making, called pomace. All of the seeds, peels, pulp, and stems are fermented and distilled creating (essentially) a liquored up wine drink.
Rhine Hall, based in Chicago, then ages their grappa in oak barrels, mellowing out the flavour, and, creating a grappa that is sweet, toasty, and has lovely coconut notes, which are enhanced by the other fabulous ingredients in this cocktail. It's really something.
A lot of rums use caramel colour to achieve depth of flavour, but Grander Rum uses nothing artificial, and ages their Panamanian Rums in ex-Bourbon barrels.
The 12 year is delicate, light in colour, and gets its coconut and vanilla notes from the barrels they are aged in (some of which previously held sherry).
The result is something buttery and has the aroma of coconut shavings.
the caramel
Now that we've got our coconut base, it's time to make caramel to add to your cocktail.
We won't be doing this through flavoured vodka or high fructose corn syrup filled sauces. Homespun caramel is the best option.
I love Sally's Baking Addiction's recipe, which can be found here, except I don't add any salt.
If this seems time consuming, remember that homemade caramel is worth the investment, can be used in a number of recipes, and can be frozen for future use.
FROZEN HOT CHOCOLATE
Now we need chocolate. And I'm not talking a measly little drizzle. I'm not talking only a garnish. I'm talking chocolate.
Frozen hot chocolate is not difficult to make and the payoff is great. I usually take a really good hot cocoa mix, say Ghirardelli, make it to the specifications on the packaging then let it cool by tossing it into a Ball Jar and then into the fridge.
Once cool, blend with ice in your blender. Remember, you want a little icy crunch so you feel like you're indulging in a cookie. In this drink, a little crunch is good!
You're almost there! Now you just need HOLLOW LEG Bourbon Vanilla Bitters to add that vanilla cookie flavour and add some complexity.
MAKE THE COCKTAIL
RECIPE:
2 oz Rhine Hall Oaked Grappa
1 oz homespun caramel
2-3 dashes vanilla bitters (or more if desired)
2.5 oz frozen hot chocolate
Garnish: Chocolate curls and/or a cocoa/cinnamon/sprinkles heart
Shake together the oaked grappa, bitters, and caramel first. You want to make sure the caramel is incorporated into the alcohol BEFORE shaking in the frozen hot chocolate.
Then pour in the frozen hot chocolate and shake again, for about 5-7 seconds. Pour into a glass.
For a garnish, I cut a heart out of a piece of cardboard and then set it over my glass. In the picture above, I'm dashing a drink with pink sprinkles. Enjoy your drink, darling!