DISSECTING A COCKTAIL

Amanda Schuster’s Signature Cocktails is a beautiful cocktail recipe book that pays homage to older cocktails, as well as those that will be soon. I’ve been in the process of mentally preparing myself for a brick and mortar bar of my own, and every now and then I come across a drink that I visualize serving in my fantasy lounge. “Big Trouble in Oaxaca” is one of them, courtesy of Schuster’s book.

The name of the drink pays homage to the ’80s movie Big Trouble in Little China. It’s essentially a riff on a margarita, and what first got my attention is how it glowed on the page. Bright and fluorescent, its hue reminds me of when I’ve had one too many B vitamins . . . if you know, you know. Created in 2018 at the restaurant Drink Kong by bartender Livio Morena, this cocktail seems to fit the bar’s trademark ’70s and ’80s nostalgic theme. The neon color comes courtesy of Midori melon liqueur (which was first popular in the late 1970s) and was used “because in 2018 it just seemed so dated and weird that it might be the perfect way to attract attention to the bar, and also show love for Japanese culture,” says Morena.

Personally, I can see this drink catching the eye of anyone in a dimly lit cocktail lounge. The fact that it tastes amazing only solidifies the odds of me serving this one night as a drink special. Hypothetically, of course.