Shaken into numerous tiki drinks and tropical riffs on classics, Giffard’s Banane du Brésil has proved to be a flexible backbar staple since hitting the market in 2013.
The golden-hued liqueur, which is created from a banana-infused impartial spirit blended with banana distillate and a little bit of Cognac, suits nicely into a wide range of drinks. Specifically, it shines with rum, which banana liqueur has been paired with for the reason that nineteenth century. (Typically, it was added to low cost rum to simulate the flavors of higher-quality rum.) In fashionable rum drinks, reminiscent of Julie Reiner’s frozen Banana Daiquiri, the liqueur is mixed with a mix of rums, bolstering the subtly candy banana taste. In one other traditional riff, Nashville bartender Demi Natoli replaces the Lodge Nacional’s typical apricot liqueur with banana to create her crowd-pleasing Elusive Goals. Banane du Brésil’s decadence, which manages to keep away from cloying sweetness, may even add physique to lower-proof tropical-style drinks, reminiscent of bartender Fanny Chu’s Jungle Hen–adjoining Tropical Fluff.
However the liqueur presents greater than a tropical edge. With a spice profile that has been likened to banana bread by Kirk Estopinal, the New Orleans bartender who assisted with the liqueur’s U.S. debut, Banane du Brésil can even add a warming dimension to stirred drinks. It’s this high quality, partly, that accounts for the liqueur’s presence in so many “Bananavardiers,” complementing the bitterness of Campari with its personal richness, as in this model served at Houston’s Anvil.
On the flip aspect, Banane du Brésil’s ripe and funky taste can even harmonize nicely with grassier spirits, reminiscent of cachaça, as demonstrated in Damon Boelte’s Boardwalk Flyer, a beach-ready swizzle that additionally calls on bianco vermouth and lime juice.
Drawing on all elements of the liqueur’s profile is the Caribbean Queen, a cocktail by Natasha Bermudez of New York’s Llama San. Once more, Banane du Brésil’s funkiness pairs with the vegetal notes of agricole rum, whereas the liqueur’s baking spice taste blends along with a vanilla- and banana-forward Japanese whisky. The ensuing Outdated-Usual riff drinks like “a Hawaiian shirt beneath a tuxedo,” in keeping with Punch senior editor Chloe Frechette. That’s the fantastic thing about Banane du Brésil: It’s an overtly tropical ingredient that feels at house in nearly any traditional cocktail.
