If you follow my Twitter or Facebook you may know that I recently went down to Rancho Santana, a Nicaraguan resort, to consult on their bar, train their bar staff and create their cocktail menu. The El Matrimonio Clandestino is a cocktail I created for Rancho Santana’s restaurant and bar, La Finca y El Mar. Creating drinks for this client was a good opportunity to explore the current trend of low alcohol content recipes. Consider this recipe for your next pool party because it can be made ahead of time in large batches*. It’s a refreshing low alcohol content cocktail, perfect for sipping poolside all day.

I call this cocktail El Matrimonio Clandestino, Spanish for The Secret Marriage, because it incorporates two alcoholic ingredients of very different lineages, the Sauvignon Blanc and the Cachaca. The union of these two elements from opposing flavor families may be surprising, but you won’t be able to deny their compatibility once you taste it. Consider this a tropical take on forbidden love.

Recipe

• 2 oz Sauvignon Blanc
• 1 oz Cachaca
• 1/2 oz lime juice
• 1/2 oz simple syrup
• 1/2 oz of fresh pineapple juice
• 6–8 muddled mint leaves
• 1 pineapple wedge for garnish
• 1 pineapple leaf for garnish
• 1 pineapple mint sprig for garnish

Add the Sauvignon Blanc and mint to your shaker tin then lightly muddle. Add the rest of the ingredients to your shaker tin except the garnishes. Add ice and shake well. Double strain into a tulip glass filled with small pellet ice. Garnish with a pineapple wedge, a pineapple leaf and a pineapple mint sprig.

Note: If you’re making this drink at home consider these fun cubette ice cube trays. Also, if you can’t find cachaca a white rum will work just fine. Below is a recipe for a large batch.

Batch Recipe

• 1 bottle of your favorite Sauvignon Blanc
• 12.5 oz cachaca
• 6.25 oz pineapple juice
• 6.25 oz of lime juice
• 6.25 oz simple syrup
• 50 mint leaves
• Since you are not shaking with ice and diluting this cocktail, top with club soda to taste.

Add a healthy amount of mint leaves, approximately 50, to a big pitcher and top the mint with a little Sauvignon Blanc. Lightly muddle the mint to incorporate the mint flavor. Then strain into a separate container and discard the muddled mint. Add large ice cubes to your pitcher and then pour the strained Sauvignon Blanc and the rest of the ingredients in (Larger ice melts slower). Feel free to add some cut fruit to the pitcher to enhance the visual appeal. Top with club soda to taste. Keep in mind the cocktail will dilute the longer it sits on ice.