The Catamaran is a drink invented by Shannon Tebay from Death & Co., a speakeasy style cocktail bar in New York. She describes the drink as a grapefruit gin colada, and that’s pretty much my first impression on taking a sip. While I did alter the original recipe a bit, I’m not changing the name since the general idea of the cocktail is the same.
The three changes I made were using 2 oz of dry gin instead of 1.5 of dry gin and .5 navy strength gin, substituting Campari for the Aperol (both Italian bitter apertifs, but I prefer Campari which is stronger and not as sweet), and using proper Coconut Cream instead of Coco Lopez. Essentially I’ve just made the drink a little less sweet.
One thing you will need to make at home is Don’s Mix. This is a combination of grapefruit juice and cinnamon syrup at a 2:1 ratio. I’ve written how to make homemade cinnamon syrup so you can use that recipe for this drink.
How To Make The Catamaran Cocktail
Ingredients
- 2 oz (60 ml) London Dry Gin
- 1 oz (30 ml) Don’s Mix. A 2:1 ratio grapefruit juice to cinnamon syrup.
- 1/2 oz (15 ml) Campari. The original recipe calls for Aperol, which is weaker and sweeter.
- 1/2 oz (15 ml) Lemon Juice. Freshly squeezed
- 1.2 oz (15 ml) Coconut Cream. The original recipe calls for Coco Lopez, which is coconut cream mixed with sugarcane syrup.
Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Strain into a chilled glass (I used a Poco Grande) and garnish with a cinnamon stick.
The Catamaran
Equipment
- Cocktail Shaker
Ingredients
- 2 oz London Dry Gin 60 ml
- 1 oz Don's Mix. 30 ml. A 2:1 ratio grapefruit juice to cinnamon syrup.
- 1/2 oz Campari. 15 ml. The original recipe calls for Aperol, which is weaker and sweeter.
- 1/2 oz Lemon Juice. 15 ml. Freshly squeezed
- 1.2 oz Coconut Cream. 15 ml. The original recipe calls for Coco Lopez, which is coconut cream mixed with sugarcane syrup.
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker filled with ice.
- Strain into a chilled glass (I used a Poco Grande) and garnish with a cinnamon stick.
