El Raja Key pt. 2

I wanted to try the El Raja Key again, this time with the edits I talked about here. Last time, the flavors didn't blend well, and it was too tart. This time, I replaced the grapefruit bitters with Peychaud's, used orange juice instead of muddled kumquats, and topped it off with soda water. How'd I do?

Much better. The tartness is much more subdued, more of a underlying note to the raspberry flavor. Not only that, but the raspberry flavor is more subtle, allowing everything to come together. I think the orange juice/kumquats helps the citrus to be more of a layered effect, and not simply a lemon-lime, but I'm not sure how much the ginger really adds. Perhaps I should try a variant and use Domaine de Canton instead of the simple syrup and see how that works. This isn't really a winter drink, but it'd be great for the patio in the summer warmth. Recipe after the jump.

El Raja Key

The other day, I was browsing Yelp reviews of restaurants in Astoria looking for some place to have lunch. (We ended up at the Sparrow Tavern. It was very good.) I happened across a restaurant, Central Lounge, which offered something called a Gummy Bear Martini. It involved triple sec, sour mix, and other gross things. But the concept seemed interesting, so I thought I'd fool around with it.

The El Raja Key is undoubtedly much tarter than the original version. This is balanced out by quite a lot of sweetness from the Chambord and the rum, but it ended up being tarter than I wanted. Additionally, the flavors didn't marry as well as I'd normally like. The main flavors are raspberry and orange, but you tend to taste them separately. It reminded me of something, but I'm not sure what. Possibly Superman ice cream. Not the best drink I've ever made, but not bad, and I think it'll be good with a bit of work. Recipe after the jump.