The Banana Life Redux

The second most common juice used in cocktails. This citrus juice is about 6% acid; 4% from citric and 2% from malic, with small amounts of succinic acid (this is what gives it a little bloody taste). Lime juice should be used the day it is squeezed, some like it freshly squeezed and others like it a few hours old.

A juice used in some cocktails for its tart and acidic properties. Grapefruit juice can be pre-squeezed and kept fresh for many days like orange juice, unlike lemon and lime juice.

A tropical fruit, used in many tropical cocktails for its sweet flavor and yellow color. You can either juice a real pineapple, buy pineapple canned in juice (not syrup) or buy pineapple juice in a container.

A concentrated fruit syrup made from the pulp or 'juice' of passion fruits. You can make it by combining equal parts (by mass) pasison fruit purée to simple syrup. We always use 1:1 syrup unless otherwise noted in the recipe itself.

A sweet and rich banana flavored liqueur. You can make it yourself! Here is a recipe from Serious Eats: Combine 2 peeled and sliced bananas with 1 1/2 cups rum in a sealable glass jar. Let steep for 3 days. Strain the fruit out and filter through cheesecloth. Press the bananas down to extract liquid. Heat 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup sugar until the sugar dissolves, add the syrup to the mixture. Seal and shake, then let rest for 1 day. Enjoy!

Often referred to as silver or white, these rums are actually lightly aged (1-3 years), but have had their color removed by charcoal filtering. They are molasses based (as opposed to the cane juice-based rhum agricole, clairin, or cachaça). Flavors range from light (Bacardi, Caña Brava, Plantation 3 Star, El Dorado 3) to more flavorful (Probitas, Ten-To-One).

A tropical yellow fruit, mostly used for its creamy texture. Monkey's like me.

A tropical yellow fruit, mostly used for its creamy texture. Monkey's like me.

Small, round, green citrus fruits. Commonly used in many cocktails for its rind or its acidic taste (6% acid total; 4% citric, 2% malic, some succinic acid).