Special to the AmNews
Are you looking for a little something special to add to your Valentine’s Day cocktail? Something that perhaps might induce that stare, that glimmer in the eye, that je ne sais quoi of your betrothed? The answer lies in Africa’s Marula tree.
The mystic Marula tree, often referred to as “the Marriage Tree,” is believed to impart vigor and fertility to those married under its branches. Can’t quite make it to Africa for Valentine’s Day? Enter Amarula (@Amarula, www.amarula.com/cream), a cream liqueur produced from the fruit of the tree. Known all over the world as “the Spirit of Africa,” it is the second largest cream liqueur in the world.
Making Amarula starts with hand-harvesting the citrusy Marula fruit and fermenting the juice. It is then double distilled and aged in French oak casks for two years. Finally, this brandy is mixed with cream to produce a complex liqueur rich with aromas of toffee, vanilla bean, nutmeg and citrus.
There are myriad ways to use Amarula, but here is an idea for a Valentine’s Day cocktail that will seduce eyes, mouth and hopefully the heart too!
LOVER’S REVENGE
1 oz Amarula
1/5 oz cream
1/5 oz milk
1/5 oz pomegranate juice
1 oz Creme de Cacao
Pomegranate seeds
Shaved flakes of 70 percent dark chocolate
Ice cubes
Combine the pomegranate juice and Creme de Cacao and pour into a highball glass layered with pomegranate seeds at the bottom and fill three-quarters with ice. Mix the remaining ingredients in a cocktail shaker, blender or closed container with ice and strain into the highball glass. Add another layer of pomegranate seeds on top, along with shaved flakes of 70 percent dark chocolate.