During the spring here in Los Angeles, the loquat trees explode with fruit. In fact, nearly every neighborhood in LA is filled with loquat trees, heavy with ripe fruit. The first year that I lived in my house I had no idea what these little golden fruits growing on my trees were. And I definitely didn’t know they were edible. The next year I didn’t want to spend endless days cleaning up the hundreds of loquats falling to the ground and sidewalks. So I started searching for ways to eat them and use them in recipes. Enter The Forager cocktail.
I love smooth southern cocktails, fragrant with bourbon and mint. And since loquats are a fruit found predominantly in the American south, it made sense to pair the flavors together.
You probably won’t find loquats in the grocery store produce section. Basically they just grow on trees in backyards and neighborhoods throughout sub-tropical regions. They fill local trees by the thousands, therefore many Angelenos forage the fruits from neighbors, parks and along the street. If you live in a region where you can’t find loquats, try using a combination of peach, mango and pear to get the same flavor. Or just come on out to the West Coast in the spring and forage some off the trees for yourself.
Sip an icy cold Forager on a hot summer day with a basket of spicy fried chicken or black-eyed peas and greens.
The Forager
Ingredients
- 8 ounces ripe loquats, washed well about 20 loquats
- 10-12 fresh mint leaves plus more for garnishing
- 2 Tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice plus 1 Tbsp for simple syrup
- 4 ounces Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey (not rye) I use Four Roses, Bulleit or Makers Mark
- ice
- 1 cup sugar
- 1½ Tbsp Blackstrap molasses
- 1 tsp vanilla
Instructions
Simple Syrup
- Make the simple syrup ahead of time so that it is completely cooled or chilled when you mix up your cocktails.
- In a small saucepan, dissolve 1 cup of sugar into 1 cup of purified water. Heat to just simmering and turn off heat. Stir to completely dissolve. Let cool a bit then add molasses, vanilla and 1 Tbsp lemon juice. Allow to completely cool before using or refrigerate overnight.
Cocktail Recipe
- Prepare the very well-washed and drained loquats by pinching them with your fingers to squeeze the seed(s) out of the center. Put the rest of the fruit, skin and all, into a small bowl. The final weight of the seeded loquats should be 8 ounces.
- In the bottom of a large cocktail shaker muddle the mint leaves. Then add the loquats and muddle together with 2 Tbsp lemon juice and the molasses simple syrup.
- Add bourbon and ice to the shaker and shake very well.
- Pour into iced glasses. (if the pulp is too thick to pour through the strainer, use a coarse mesh strainer to do the job) Garnish with mint leaves and lemon zest.
