Recipe: King of Snake
David Warring (owner of King of Snake restaurant) created the King of Snake cocktail in 2003. The King of Snake is one of New Zealand’s most famous original cocktails and has been published around the world. The recipe requires some preparation and technique, but if you follow these steps carefully, you’ll be amazed at the results.
Ingredients:
15ml Grand Marnier
15ml chilli-infused Belvedere vodka (put three fresh chillis in a bottle of Belvedere and leave to infuse for two days – this will keep for months)
30ml Belvedere vodka(not infused)
fresh lemon juice
2 or 3 tsp grated palm sugar
2 or 3 tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
Crushed ice
Method:
The secret to this cocktail is in the first step. If your King of Snake tastes bad, the problem will be right here.
Take the ginger and the palm sugar, add to your Boston Shaker glass and muddle into a paste. It is suggested you use two or three measures of each ingredient; this is because it is more important to create the right colour and texture in your paste rather than follow an exact recipe. Once muddled, your paste should be the colour and consistency of a non-translucent mānuka honey.
Add your other ingredients, fill the Boston shaker with ice and shake.
Double strain your cocktail over crushed ice into a short rocks glass and garnish with fresh lime, ginger, and chilli. For a beautiful aroma and twist on the original, add a few slivers of kaffir lime leaf to the garnish.