Passion Fruit Cocktails

Passion Fruit is one of the flavors that reminds us most of Summer. What's better than enjoying a nice refreshing cocktail on a warm Summer evening! Passion fruit is so flavorful and makes the perfect mixer for cocktails or mocktails. But we have found that good passion fruit products, and even the fruit themselves, are often difficult to find here in Texas. So, we recently partnered with Da Vine Foods, a Hawaii-based company that creates delicious and high-quality passion fruit products. We will be creating several delicious passion fruit recipes for you over the next few months!

It's only appropriate that we get the cocktails flowing first using the Lilikoi Cocktail Mix! Check out two original Passion Fruit Cocktails in this post today: The Passionate Ginger Whiskey Cocktail and the Passion Fruit Gin Punch.

What is Passion Fruit, or Lilikoi?

Passion fruit, or Lilikoi (its Hawaiian name pronounced like the lily flower and Koi like the fish), is a sweet and tart fruit found in tropical regions of the world. When cutting into these round, often yellow-skinned fruit, you will discover a pulp that contains small soft gel-like sacks surrounding black seeds, which are all edible! There is a thin white layer inside the smooth and fairly tough skin, which aren't eaten due to their bitter taste and tough texture. But you can dig into the pulp with a spoon for a delightful treat. Or squeeze and strain the juices to add to a variety of recipes. Da Vine Foods has done all the work for you with their products. The pre-made Lilikoi Cocktail Mix can easily be added to any drink without the hassel!

How to make drinks using the Lilikoi Cocktail Mix?

Using the Lilikoi Cocktail Mix is so easy and it is perfect in a variety of drinks and cocktails/mocktails. It also blends well with different liquors, so you really can't go wrong. Because of its sweet and tart flavor combo, this mixer is great for people who prefer a very sweet and fruity cocktail and for those who tend to stay away from sweet drinks.

The two passion fruit cocktails we created are pretty well balanced with sweet and tart. They can be modified for your individual taste to be sweeter if desired as well. Typically we see tropical fruit drinks consisting of rum, vodka, or tequila, so we wanted to provide a few more options for the whiskey and gin drinkers of the world to show how versatile this Lilikoi Cocktail Mix truly is. Additionally, you can check out a variety of cocktail recipes on the Da Vine Foods website for more ideas of how to use the Lilikoi Cocktail Mix.

Passionate Ginger Whiskey Cocktail

The Passionate Ginger Whiskey Cocktail is our creation in an attempt to combine the tropical lilikoi with whiskey. And – whoa, it is the bomb! The idea for this came from a Whiskey Sour. But it really isn’t that close in taste and has a completely different flavor profile. Our favorite part is the marriage of the passion fruit, whiskey, and ginger. Pressing ginger through a garlic press is a pretty good way to get it into your shaker so it will release maximum flavor. If you don't have a garlic press, finely chop the ginger and muddle it slightly. The mint and lemon are added to round out the cocktail and provide the perfect balance!

Can I modify the ingredients?

You can certainly modify this to your taste by using more or less of any ingredient. Ginger and passion fruit are naturally perfect pairs so try not to omit that. But this drink is definitely not on the sweet side, so adding a little simple syrup will give this a sweeter taste.

What is the best type of whiskey to use for this cocktail?

We used Jack Daniels in this cocktail, which is our preference. But you can experiment with different whiskey or bourbon in this drink. We recommend Tennessee Sour Mash Whisky (think Jack!) but Kentucky Bourbon works well and so does Canadian Whiskey – like Crown Royal. You can certainly experiment with Scotch, Irish Whisky, Japanese Whiskey or anything you like. But the passion fruit is a surprisingly perfect pairing with whiskey so enjoy! And even if you aren't much of a whiskey drinker (like Angela) you will be surprised by how delicious this cocktail is.

Passion Fruit Gin Punch

Passion fruit and gin just make sense to us, but we are major gin lovers. The botanical spice and aroma of gin mixed with the sweet and delightfully tangy lilikoi form the base of our Passion Fruit Gin Punch. The addition of apple brandy (Calvados), basil, lime and a little soda water brightens this thing up and makes it a very easy-drinking cocktail. 

How can I customize the Passion Fruit Gin Punch?

As with all drinks, a little modification can go a long way and can really let you customize this for your taste. The passion fruit will work with any type of gin. We chose Citadel or Beefeater as they complement it the best to us. But you do you. The lime juice adds a little acidity, but again, any citrus juice (or not at all) works well. Basil works exceptionally well with gin and in this cocktail, it is quite subdued and not at all aggressive. Calvados and gin are another natural pair and this addition effectively deepens the cocktail and makes it more interesting and complex. Passion fruit is so versatile and not just for rum or vodka!

We hope you enjoy these Passion Fruit Cocktails made with Lilikoi Cocktail Mix! If you give these cocktails a try, leave us a comment below or tag us on Instagram @cooking_with_wine!

If you liked these recipes, check out some of our other popular cocktails below:

• Sweet and Spicy Jalapeño Cocktail
• Pear Sage and Peppercorn Martini
• Strawberry Basil Martini
• Aperol and Gin Cocktail