Buvare: Papa Pomelo Daiquiri

One of the many reasons for my blogger slack lately (excuses, excuses) is that I just moved house. This is something I am very ecstatic about. I have a yard! I have an outdoor dining table! I have sexy lounge chairs and a babbling fountain! Most importantly I have somewhere to ENTERTAIN.

The other night while recording our podcast, the Table Set - which is centered around the umbrella topic of entertaining, Andy, Greg and I were discussing house warming parties in particular, and the importance of incorporating a sense of place. One of the most noticeable aspects of my new yard is the towering citrus tree dangling with human head-sized yellow fruits: Pomelos.

The size of a soccer ball and heavy as a mid-size dog, the greenish-yellow giant comes to us from Eastern Asia. With a dense foamy pith up to 2 inches thick, the pomelo is deceiving in size, but still packs a good amount of tart juicy pulp inside. The flavor is somewhere between a lemon and yellow grapefruit, and dropping bombs on my patio at least once a day, my new go-to citrus for cooking and cocktails.

Naturally for my intimate housewarming gathering I decided to employ the fruit (as did many guests, spearing take aways from the tree on their way out). I peeled back the pith (the remnants a meme of their own: "cat wigs") and squeezed about a quart of tangy juice. Now what?
I took a wise cue from one of my Table Set co-hosts Greg to try it as a Papa Hemingway Daiquiri - A sexy twist on the rum/lime classic made by Ernest himself, incorporating grapefruit and marischino liqueur. With a few tweaks of my own, the Papa Pomelo was born. Originally a punch bowl affair, below is an abbreviated single cocktail version.

Papa Pomelo Daiquiri Punch

2 oz white rum
1/2 oz marischino liqueur
1/2 oz Velvet Falernum
1 oz fresh-squeezed pomelo juice
1 oz fresh-squeezed lime juice
Dash of Fee's rhubarb bitters
Drop of orange flower water

Combine all ingredients in a shaker over cracked ice. Shake hard and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a pomelo peel.

Now watch your head.