Pandan Coconut Daiquiri

Before you start

Pandan leaves smell of vanilla, fresh hay and toasted rice, and across Southeast Asia they are paired with coconut in sweets and drinks. This original build keeps the daiquiri's rum-lime-sugar frame but swaps plain syrup for a bright green pandan syrup and adds a small measure of canned coconut milk, which rounds the acid and gives the drink a soft, pale-jade body.

The decisions that matter are the syrup and the fat. Blending the leaves into the syrup pulls out far more aroma than steeping alone, but the syrup must be strained well or it tastes leafy. Coconut milk can separate when it meets cold lime juice, so stir the can thoroughly and shake hard enough to emulsify the fat. Keep the coconut to 15 ml; any more and the drink drifts toward a colada.

Ingredients

• Pandan syrup (makes about 150 ml)100 g (½ cup) granulated sugar
• 100 ml (3⅓ oz) water
• 4 to 5 leaves (about 20 g) pandan leaves — fresh or thawed frozen, cut into 2 cm pieces
• Cocktail50 ml (1⅔ oz) white rum
• 25 ml (generous ¾ oz) fresh lime juice — strained
• 20 ml (⅔ oz) pandan syrup
• 15 ml (½ oz) full-fat canned coconut milk — stirred well before measuring
• 1 cup (about 150 g) ice cubes — for shaking
• 1 short strip pandan leaf — optional garnish, tied in a knot

Method

1. Warm the sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring, just until the sugar dissolves, about 3 minutes. Do not boil it; you only need a clear syrup.
2. Pour the warm syrup into a blender with the cut pandan leaves. Blend on high for 30 to 45 seconds until the leaves are pulverized and the syrup is vivid green.
3. Strain through a fine strainer lined with cheesecloth, pressing gently on the pulp. Let the syrup cool to room temperature, then chill it, about 30 minutes in total.
4. Stir the can of coconut milk until the cream and water are fully combined. Measure the rum, lime juice, pandan syrup and coconut milk into the shaker tin.
5. Fill the shaker two-thirds with fresh ice and shake very hard for 12 to 15 seconds. The extra time helps the coconut fat emulsify into a smooth, even texture.
6. Double-strain into the chilled coupe. Garnish with a knotted strip of pandan leaf, or leave it plain, and serve right away while the foam is fine.

Tips for success

• Frozen pandan leaves from Asian grocers work as well as fresh. Thaw them in a bowl of cool water and pat them dry before cutting.
• If your syrup tastes grassy, the leaves were blended too long or not strained finely enough. Strain once more through a coffee filter.
• Taste the drink before adding garnish. Limes vary, and the coconut milk mutes acid, so you may want 5 ml more lime than in a standard daiquiri.

Substitutions

Fresh pandan leaves

Pandan extract works in a pinch: stir 2 to 3 drops into 150 ml of plain 1:1 syrup. The flavor is sweeter and less nuanced, and many brands add bright green coloring.

Coconut milk

Coconut cream gives a richer, heavier drink; reduce it to 10 ml. Coconut water keeps the drink light and clear but adds only a faint coconut note.

White rum

A lightly aged rum brings vanilla that echoes the pandan. Rhum agricole adds a grassy, vegetal edge that suits the leaf but can take over.

Variations

Pandan coconut highball

Shake the same ingredients without the coconut milk, strain over ice in a tall glass and top with 90 ml of chilled coconut water.

Frozen version

Blend the full spec with about 1 cup of ice and an extra 5 ml of pandan syrup, since cold dulls sweetness.

Troubleshooting

The drink looks curdled or flecked

The coconut milk was not mixed or the shake was too short. Stir the can thoroughly, warm it slightly if it is solid, and shake hard for the full 15 seconds.

The pandan flavor is faint

Older or dried-out leaves give less aroma. Use 5 leaves, blend the syrup while it is still warm and do not dilute it further.

The syrup turned brownish in the fridge

Chlorophyll fades with time and light. The flavor is usually still fine for a few days, but discard the syrup if it smells sour or looks cloudy.

Storage

Serve the cocktail immediately; the coconut separates as it sits. Refrigerate the pandan syrup in a clean, sealed jar and use it within about 1 week, because fresh leaf syrups spoil faster than plain syrup. Discard it if it turns cloudy, smells sour or shows mold. Refrigerate opened coconut milk and use it within 4 to 5 days.

Safety notes

Contains 50 ml of 40% ABV rum, about 1.1 U.S. standard drinks (a standard drink is roughly 14 g of pure alcohol). Serve only to adults of legal drinking age, and never drink and drive.