La Rosa Ola - The Perfect Summer Cocktail

I recently had the opportunity to go to the WSWA Convention in Orlando, Florida, where hundreds upon hundreds of wine and spirits purveyors come together to show off their wares. While the majority of the week is spent entertainment prospective clients in their brand suites, they do have interesting panels and activities to help promote the exchange of ideas and partnerships. One particularly fun panel was the Call For Cocktails Mixology Competition, which showcased the mixability of the represented brands. Only seven were chosen out out of the near 400 spirits and wines at WSWA. The cocktail that struck my fancy as something that would be very sessionable and perfect for the coming months was LiDestri Spirits La Rosa Ola or The Pink Wave. Utilizing LiDestri's PINK Limoncello (the only liqueur of its kind) as the base, the drink blends the sweet with the spicy for a decidedly refreshing yet bold cocktail. Except for the raspberry-seranno syrup, the drink is remarkably easy to make and something that you can surprise guests with out at the bocce court. I was lucky enough to secure the recipe to share with all of you. Please feel free to pass along and let me know how yours came out. CHEERS!! La Rosa Ola 1.5 oz reposado tequila (I prefer Espelon) .75 oz LiDestri's Pink lemoncello .75 fresh squeezed lime juice .75 raspberry-seranno syrup (recipe below) 3 dashes Angostura bitters Ginger beer topper Shake all ingredients except ginger beer in a shaker tin until very very cold. Strain into coupe rimmed with salt blend (alder wood smoked and Hawaiian pink salt preferred), top with ginger beer, garnish with raspberry and orange zest ribbon. Raspberry-Serrano syrup 5 Serrano peppers 1qt hot water 1qt granulated sugar 1qt raspberry purée Slice and muddle 5 medium serrano peppers. Steep in hot water for 15 minutes. Strain out peppers and stir in sugar until dissolved. Combine with purée. Refrigerate.