Simply whenever you suppose you’ve tried each fashion of Margarita beneath the solar, a brand new model comes alongside that subverts all expectations. On the newly opened Coral Wig in Baltimore’s historic Mt. Vernon neighborhood, the menu leans tropical, with cocktails that don’t draw back from daring, theatrical garnishes. Hidden amongst drinks just like the Mango Boy, served with a speared caper berry and sprinkles of pistachio and pink peppercorn, or the Flamboyán cachaça cocktail, topped off with a wafer-thin safflower, sits the unassuming Banana Hammock. On the floor, it seems similar to every other fruited Margarita, however from the primary sip it’s clear this recipe has just a few secrets and techniques.
First, the blanco tequila is infused over 4 days with ripe, however not too ripe, bananas. “The issue with overripe bananas is the tequila doesn’t tackle as a lot of the flavour,” says Coral Wig proprietor Lane Harlan. “The infusion ought to flip brown and scent like contemporary bananas.” That aroma, after all, interprets to the nostril of the drink, and that taste is enhanced by the slight sweetness of Tempus Fugit Crème de Banane liqueur. Along with the anticipated lime juice, cold-pressed yuzu juice ranges up the brightness.
However what actually units this cocktail aside is MSG. Simply two dashes of the answer spherical out the physique of the drink, providing viscosity and a delicate umami be aware. Although it’s hardly the star of the present, the MSG resolution transforms the drink from simply one other Margarita riff to 1 whose complicated, savory layers proceed to construct with each sip.
The final touch is a salt rim—however not simply any salt rim. As is typical at her bars, Harlan reimagines the garnish as an equal-parts mixture of chamomile flowers, bee pollen and pink Himalayan salt. The rim is utilized as a tough semi-oval, or as Harlan says, “You need the salt rim to look rustic, prefer it has butterfly wings.” Becoming for a tropics-inspired bar that’s about to take off.
