Cocktail of the week: Don't Tell Dad's clarified curry leaf daiquiri – recipe

The Guardian

5 days ago

Milk clarification can create a cocktail that will last in your fridge door for up to a year. The protein from the milk binds to the tannins in the drink, giving it a lovely, silken texture and balancing the alcohol. You'll need to make the infusion at least five days ahead.
Serves 1
For the rum infusion20g fresh curry leaves
400ml white rum – we use East London Liquor Co
For the premix400ml curry leaf rum infusion – see above and method50ml overproof rum – we use Ron Colón High Proof150ml standard 1:1 grapefruit sugar syrup (ie, equal parts fresh grapefruit juice and sugar)150ml fresh lime juice
125ml whole milk
For the drink75ml clarified curry leaf daiquiri – see above and method1 fresh curry leaf, to garnish
For the infusion, put the curry leaves in a half-litre jar, pour over the white rum, seal and leave to infuse for five to seven days, until the leaves lose their colour.
Pour all the premix ingredients bar the milk into a large container, and stir. Add the milk, stir gently, then leave to curdle by letting it sit at room temperature for about two hours. Once curdled, strain through cheesecloth set inside a fine-mesh sieve – to start with, it will look cloudy, but after the milk solids settle in the sieve, it will start to strain through clear. The moment it does so, move the sieve over a second container and pour the cloudy initial pour back in to strain again. Decant into clean bottles or jars, seal and refrigerate.
To serve, pour the clarified daiquiri over ice in a tumbler, stir to chill and dilute, and garnish with a curry leaf.
Edward Sims, bar manager, Don't Tell Dad, London NW6