My day job (okay, my only “job”) has an obsession with the song Sandstorm. You know, Sandstorm. The trance crossover hit that was released by Finnish DJ Darude in 1999, charted on the Billboard Hot 100 and helped bring trance music to US mainstream radio listeners with one pulsating musical phrase.
.
du-du-du-du-du
Darude – “Sandstorm”
.
When Sandstorm comes on at the office – which was a daily occurrence for a period of time – people stop working either out of joy or protest and squeeze in 3 minutes of fist-pumping cardio. Naturally I had to make a cocktail about this experience, because drinking is cheaper than therapy.
.
.
Sandstorm is a desert-inspired cocktail featuring agave- and aloe vera-based spirits, along with black currant liqueur and a cinnamon swizzle stick to literally “sandstorm” all the ingredients together in your glass.
.
Add 1 3/4 oz cinnamon-infused Dulce Vida blanco tequila to a shaker filled with ice. Dulce Vida is my favorite blanco tequila, sourced from Mexico and imported to Austin, TX. For the infusion, I add two cinnamon sticks to 250 mL of tequila, and let it infuse for 4-6 hours. I find that infusing for longer than 6 hours creates too intense of a cinnamon flavor. If you do over-infuse, you can always strain out the cinnamon sticks and dilute with uninfused tequila.
.
Add 3/4 oz lemon juice. It goes without saying, but use fresh-squeezed lemons here.
.
Add 1/2 oz Chareau aloe liqueur. Chareau is an eau de vie (French for “gets you drunk”) infused with plenty of cool summer flavors like cucumber, muskmelon, lemon peel, spearmint and of course aloe vera.
.
Add 1/2 oz 2:1 agave syrup. “2:1” here means two parts agave syrup to 1 part water. Diluting the agave syrup slightly helps it dissolve more quickly into your drink and sweeten more evenly.
.
Add 2-3 dashes salt. Salt is a flavor enhancer. We aren’t going for a salty flavor profile, but the salt really sharpens the edges on this cocktail.
.
Shake for 15-20 seconds, then strain into a coupe glass. Normally this is the last step, but this cocktail is special.
.
Add 1/4 oz creme de cassis to the coupe glass and serve with a cinnamon stick garnish. Creme de cassis is a black current liqueur. It will sink to the bottom because its specific gravity is very high, which creates the layered effect you see in the picture.
.
Use the cinnamon stick to stir all the ingredients together before consuming. While the layered effect is visually appealing, we want the flavors to be equally blended into the drink. Give it a quick 5-10 second stir before sipping. Enjoy.
.
.
SANDSTORM
PAIRS WELL WITH “SANDSTORM” BY DARUDE
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 oz cinnamon-infused Dulce Vida blanco tequila
- 3/4 oz lemon juice
- 1/2 oz Chareau aloe liqueur
- 1/2 oz 2:1 agave syrup
- 1/4 oz creme de cassis
- 2-3 dashes salt
Instructions
- Add all ingredients EXCEPT creme de cassis to a shaker filled with ice.
- Shake for 15-20 seconds.
- Strain into a couple glass, then add the creme de cassis.
- Garnish with a cinnamon stick, which can be used to stir the ingredient together before imbibing.