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Alpha

Alpha

3.9 23 ratings

Ingredients

8 fresh Raspberries
2/3 oz Red bitter liqueur
2/3 oz Blanco tequila
1/2 oz Agave syrup
2/3 oz Lemon juice
1/6 oz Orgeat syrup

How to make

Serve in a coupe glass

Prepare

  1. 1 Select and pre-chill a COUPE GLASS.
  2. 2 Prepare garnish of star anise.

Method

  1. 3 MUDDLE raspberries in base of shaker.
  2. 4 Add other ingredients and SHAKE with ice.
  3. 5 FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.

Garnish

  1. 6 Garnish with star anise floated on surface.

Flavour profile

History

A bittersweet raspberry sour with tequila.

In 2017, Patrice Plante of Canada created this drink for the Campari Red Diaries series, adapting a recipe originally made with Campari Bitter. At 28 years old, the creator was on holiday in Mexico with a close friend, who would later become a world-renowned chef. Their journey took them along railway tracks that stretched across the country, eventually disappearing into dense rainforest. Backpacking in Mexico offers an incredible connection with nature but is physically demanding. Days could pass before finding a place to rest and eat, making the discovery of bushes bearing the smallest, most intensely flavored raspberries a significant event. Using a scarf worn as a turban for sun protection, the creator gathered raspberries. After walking for hours, weary and thirsty, a small bar materialized like a desert mirage in the remote landscape. Inside, the bar was sparsely populated by a bartender and an elderly gentleman. This man possessed a striking, almost elegant presence, with a white shirt unbuttoned at the chest, a light Panama hat, and a thick white beard. He exuded the aura of a former army general, boxer, or adventurer, with a large machete resting against his stool. The creator and his friend exchanged a look; the friend understood the creator's inclination to engage with the mysterious stranger, a prospect he did not endorse. Requesting the bartender to serve the stranger another glass of his Tequila, and one for himself, the creator also ordered orgeat syrup and lemonade for his teetotal friend. The elder gentleman accepted the drink, slowly turned, and after a prolonged gaze, gestured to the empty stools beside him. The man introduced himself as Alpha, recounting a life filled with diverse experiences as a soldier, novelist, and adventurer. As Alpha spoke, the creator placed the now slightly crushed raspberries from his scarf on the table, and they shared the fruit together. At that moment, the creator felt the occasion merited being immortalized. He envisioned a cocktail that would capture the essence of conversing with an enigmatic and potentially dangerous figure in an isolated bar. He mentally cataloged the day's sensory impressions: the tastes of Agave and Tequila, the sweetness of raspberries, and the sharpness of lemon and orgeat syrup. This cocktail, he decided, was a tribute to Alpha, wherever he might be.

Created by Patrice Plante