Cocktail & Other Recipes By Spirit Tequila & Mezcal Cocktails

Hello, Sun

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Liquor.com
Liquor.com

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Updated 11/16/20
Hello Sun cocktail

Liquor.com / Tim Nusog

Although aloe vera is best known as a moisturizer, sunburn soother and attractive house plant, it’s not just for topical and decorative uses. Aloe can also be consumed when it’s prepared properly, and that means it has application in cocktails. Naturally, talented bartenders have taken to experimenting with aloe in their drinks.

“Aloe adds a softness, a terroir that’s not overly demanding from the rest of the ingredients but brings florality and aromatics, boosting whatever it’s mixed with,” says Eden Laurin, the managing partner of The Violet Hour and a health and wellness enthusiast.

To get aloe into your cocktails, you could simply reach for a bottle of Chareau. This all-natural California liqueur is distilled with fresh ingredients from local farms, including aloe (of course), cucumber, spearmint, lemon peel and muskmelon. But when creating the Hello, Sun cocktail, Laurin chose to make her own aloe liqueur by reducing aloe water and then mixing it with rhum agricole and honey. She says it’s economical, easy to work with and healthy.

The Hello, Sun pairs that DIY aloe liqueur with mezcal, fresh lime juice, cucumbers and mint, so it’s exceedingly refreshing and exactly what you need to cool down on a hot day.

Ingredients

  • 3 fresh mint leaves

  • 2 slices cucumber

  • 3/4 ounce lime juice, freshly squeezed

  • 2 ounces Banhez mezcal

  • 1 1/2 ounces aloe liqueur*

  • Garnish: cucumber slice

Steps

  1. Add the cucumber, mint and lime juice into a shaker, and gently muddle to extract the flavors.

  2. Add the mezcal and aloe liqueur, fill with ice and shake until well-chilled.

  3. Strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice.

  4. Garnish with a cucumber slice.

*Aloe liqueur: Combine 1 ounce Martinique rhum agricole, 1 cup reduced aloe water and 3 ounces honey. Will keep, refrigerated in an airtight container, for up to one month.