Cocktail College - The (Re)Missionary's Downfall

Feb 20 2025 87 mins 22

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Few tiki and tropical drinks are as light, herbal, and dangerously sessionable as the Missionary’s Downfall. Created by Don the Beachcomber in the 1930s, it’s one of the genre’s earlier recipes and one of the first cocktails to embrace the power of the blender. And it is the blender itself — and proper blending technique — that will primarily be in our crosshairs on today’s episode. Here to lead us on that exploration is returning guest, VinePair Next Wave Awards Bartender of the Year (2024), and Chief Cocktail Officer at Brooklyn's Sunken Harbor Club, Garret Richard. Listen on (or read below) to discover Garret's Missionary's Downfall recipe — and don't forget to like, review, and subscribe!

Garret Richard's Missionary's Downfall Recipe

Ingredients

- 5 drops saline solution

- ½ ounce acid-adjusted pineapple juice* or lime juice

- ½ ounce rich honey syrup (about 3:1 by weight, Florida Orange Blossom or Acacia)

- ½ ounce peach liqueur, such as Giffard Crème de Pêche de Vigne (from freezer)

- ½ ounce RinQuinQuin Peach Aperitif (from freezer)

- 1 ounce white rum, such as Probitas or Havana 3-Year (from freezer)

- 60 grams chopped pineapple chunks (frozen for a day, then taken out of freezer to defrost, and strained)

- 12-13 fresh mint leaves

- 1 ½ cups (170 grams) crushed ice

- ¼ teaspoon Xantham gum