Post #406661 by Swanky on Mon, Sep 8, 2008 12:35 PM

On 2008-09-08 12:10, The Gnomon wrote:
Of course, homesqueezed mango juice is the best. If you don't have a juicer, but have access to mangos, then putting them in the blender and straining out the stringiest of the pulp is second best. Third best is finding Goya mango pulp in the frozen food section where they keep the Goya frozen products (while your at it, pick up some Passion Fruit pulp if they carry it).

I've tried just about every brand of Passion Fruit, Mango, Guanabana, and Guava nectar/juice/drink available in the local mainstream and international markets. They are all very distant fourths (last resorts).

If you can get mangos with some kind of regularity, get yourself a mango cutter from Bed-Bath-&-Beyond, and a standard plastic pumpkin scoop from a Halloween jack-o-lantern carving kit. With the mango cutter from BB&B you can split a mango into two halves and a pit in about 1 second. The pumpkin scoop is just the right shape and material for scooping the mango away from the skin in one large chunk (I call them mango steaks). Mango steaks are great on the grill.

That's what I use. And when the mangos at the store are small or don't look that good, I just pop open a bag of Goya mango pulp.

The fresh juice and pulp are suitable for mixological masterpieces. I would not waste any decent rum by using a nectar of any sort. If you're desperate enough to use a nectar, then use really cheap rum.

Certainly your methods are making a tastier, more natural mixer, but that does not mean that is what is called for in a recipe to make it properly. If that were the case, not many places have ever made these drinks properly or do so today.

And certainly your drinks may be better than those made with a can of nectar off the shelf, but they also may not be recognizable by Donn or The Bum, as the recipe they invented or remastered.

I don't think anyone should not bother making a recipe because they have Goya or Looza mango nectar in the fridge instead of hand squeezed mango juice. The recipes The Bum makes call for Mango Nectar and not fresh squeezed mango juice.

I'm a cocktail pragmatist. Do the best with what you have and make it work. For main ingredients like lime juice, fresh is doable. For a rarely used ingredient like mango nectar, I'll take the expedient and more reasonable approach.

I'd also gladly enjoy your efforts any day of the week.