Ask An OC Bartender: Your Best Tropical Drink Recipe

Gabrielle Dion is the bar consultant at Broadway by Amar Santana, a restaurant that feels like a well-kept secret when you enter for the first time. Amar Santana was inspired by some of the great theaters in New York when he started this restaurant. Here, you'll find great cuisine, including small plates on Tuesdays. The food here pairs well with the amazing and creative craft cocktails.

Gabrielle Dion
Broadway by Amar Santana
328 Glenneyre St.
Laguna Beach, CA 92651
(949) 715-8234
www.broadwaybyamarsantana.com

A graduate of the BAR 5-Day program, a comprehensive course about distilled spirits and mixology, Gabrielle Dion is also a spirits specialist certified by the Society of Wine Educators. Additionally, she served as bar manager at Broadway by Amar Santana from 2012 until 2014. As a bar consultant, she works with bar manager, Michael Rooney, to create a seasonal cocktail menu with ingredients, like cherimoya, that you won't find at other bars or restaurants. A lot of time and care goes into making the cocktails here, but it's definitely worth the wait when you taste these creations.
 
Dion also owns a store called The Mixing Glass in Costa Mesa. Here, you'll find not only spirits, but also bitters and glassware. She also offers monthly classes for those looking to develop their own skills as a mixologist.

• 1 oz Appleton V/X rum
• 1 oz Clement VSOP rum
• 0.75 oz fresh lime juice
• 0.5 oz Clement Creole Shrub orange liqueur
• 0.5 oz orgeat (preferably Small Hand Foods)

Directions:

1. Combine ingredients with one ice cube and shake just to combine.
2. Pour the ingredients onto crushed ice.
3. Swizzle ingredients, adding more crushed ice to the top as it settles in.
4. Garnish with a mint sprig and a lime wheel.

• 1.5 oz Hamilton Jamaican Pot Still Black Rum
• 0.75 oz Campari
• 0.5 oz fresh lime juice
• 1.5 oz pineapple juice
• 0.5 oz 1:1 simple syrup

Directions:

Simple Syrup - Combine 1 part water and 1 part sugar in a squeeze bottle or a mason jar and shake vigorously to dissolve fully. Rub a small amount between fingertips, if you feel any granules shake a bit longer until gone.

1. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice.
2. Pour the ingredients into the shaker and shake well with ice.
3. Double strain the ingredients on fresh ice in a double old-fashioned glass.
4. Garnish with 3 staggered pineapple leaves.

Related: Best Rum Cocktails In Orange County

• 1.25 oz FEW Standard Issue Gin (Navy Strength Gin)
• 0.5 oz Orgeat
• 0.5 oz Falernum
• 0.5 oz Passionfruit Puree
• 0.25 oz Lemon

Directions:

1. Combine ingredients with one ice cube and shake just to combine.
2. Pour onto crushed ice and swizzle ingredients adding more crushed ice to the top as it settles in.
3. Garnish with a mint sprig and a slice of star fruit, cut shortways.

Related: Best Cocktail Happy Hours In Orange County

Gary Schwind is a freelance writer covering all things Orange County. His work can be found on Examiner.com.