Presented by Cooks’ World and Pinnacle Wine & Liquor

Passion fruit (or passionfruit—tomato/tomahto) is a delightful subtropical fruit that tends to be available only a few weeks out of the year. I’ve been finding them at our Wegmans recently (look in their exotic fruit bins in the produce section), so here’s a delicious bourbon cocktail to make with one. (To learn more about passion fruit, and for a gin-based passion fruit cocktail, see my June 8, 2023, post about the Paradise Passion Martini.)

Instead of gin, the base liquors in the Avenue cocktail are bourbon whiskey (a perfect reason to try Pinnacle’s newly arrived and delicious Elijah Craig Private Barrel pick!) and Calvados (the French apple brandy). Add a touch of grenadine (which is a pomegranate syrup), orange flower water, and orange bitters, and you have all kinds of layered fruit flavors—passion fruit dominates, of course, but you also get the orange and apple. Very delicious and refreshing!

AVENUE
1 Fresh passion fruit
1 oz Bourbon of choice
1 oz Calvados
¼ oz Grenadine syrup (buy it or, better yet, make it at home)
1 tsp Simple syrup
¼ tsp Fee Bros. Orange Flower Water
1 dash Regans’ Orange Bitters

Cut a passion fruit in half and scoop the flesh from both halves into a shaker. Add all the other ingredients and shake with plenty of ice for 20 seconds or so. Strain the mix into a chilled Martini glass or cocktail coupe, and garnish with a twist of orange zest. 

About straining this cocktail: Between ice and the seeds, this mix tends to clog the built-in strainer of garden-variety cobbler shakers, so it’s best to remove the shaker lid and use a Hawthorne or Julep strainer to strain the drink out of the shaker. Also, still pour it through a small, fine-mesh kitchen strainer to catch any seeds that escape. Yes, you’ll need both hands for this!

About our Cocktail of the Week partners—shop local and independent!
Cooks’ World and Pinnacle Wine & Liquor are less than a mile from each other, on Monroe Avenue near Twelve Corners in Brighton.

Cooks’ World, in business since 1978, is Rochester’s premier retailer of dining, kitchen, and cooking products, including a complete selection of glassware, mixology tools, and accessories for wine and spirits lovers. Follow Cooks’ World on Facebook and Instagram. Sign up here to receive Cooks’ World’s daily email specials and other news. 

Pinnacle Wine & Liquor, in business since 1997, offers a thoughtfully curated selection of spirits and wine from around the world, with a savvy staff to assist in your selection and encourage you along your cocktail and wine journey. Follow Pinnacle on Facebook and Instagram. For the inside track on Pinnacle’s spirits sales, send two text messages to (585)765-7546:
— Text the word “bourbon,” to receive weekly text messages offering the chance to buy rare or allocated whiskies or special prices on popular products.
—Text the word “spirits,” to receive roughly monthly offers on fine spirits other than whiskies.