I spotted a bottle of “Shakka Kiwi” in my kitchen that I had bought a while back, for the sole reason that there was a deep (>50%) discount on it. Oh well and I guess the bottle looked interesting.
But, tragically, aside from a single kiwi martini I made over a year ago, I have not had the chance to use any of it. Well, until now. Because I made myself do it.
I got this first recipe off of the Absolut website.
Kiwinoska
2 oz vodka
0.5 oz simple syrup
0.5 oz kiwi liqueur
4 quarters lime
3 pieces kiwi
kiwi slice
You make this by muddling the lime and kiwi with the kiwi liqueur and simple syrup, and then adding vodka and stirring. I think I didn’t stir enough, since the drink was pretty strong in the beginning but pretty sweet by the end. It reminded me a little of a caipirinha. I do think that somewhere between the strong top and the sweet bottom there was a good balance, so if mixed properly, I think this would be quite good.
I tried this next recipe solely because of the name.
Alligator
2 oz gin
1 oz kiwi liqueur
0.5 oz lemon juice
lemon slice
It is a gin-based cocktail, and yet, lured by the name, I gave it a try anyway. The kiwi and lemon actually go well with the gin, almost enough for it to not have that unpleasant gin taste. The kiwi taste wasn’t all that pronounced, though.
Finally, a take on the martini.
Kiwi Martini
2 oz vodka
0.5 oz kiwi liqueur
1/2 kiwi
1/2 teaspoon simple syrup
kiwi slice
The original recipe had 3 oz vodka and no kiwi liqueur at all, so I changed it a bit and added a bit of the kiwi liqueur. It’s still plenty strong, though, and I actually wanted a bit more kiwi flavor. But for a “martini” it was pretty good.