Missionary's Downfall Cocktail Recipe
Rum blended with pineapple, peach, lime and a whole handful of mint — bright green and served frozen.
- Category: New Era Drinks
- Glass: Coupe glass
- ABV: 16%
- Difficulty: Medium
- Prep time: ~4 min
Ingredients
- White rum45 ml (1.5 oz)
- Pineapple juice45 ml (1.5 oz)
- Peach liqueur20 ml (0.7 oz)
- Fresh lime juice15 ml (0.5 oz)
- Fresh mint leaves12 piece
How to Make It
- Add all ingredients to a blender with a cup of crushed ice.
- Blend until smooth and pale green.
- Pour into a chilled coupe.
- Garnish with a mint sprig.
Garnish
Mint sprig
What it tastes like
Fruit notes come forward, there is pineapple and passion fruit in it, mint leaves a cooling finish and it drinks cool and easy.
The technique
Blended. Everything goes into the blender with crushed ice. Cubes strain the motor and leave shards behind; crushed or pellet ice gives a smoother drink. Rule of thumb: about a cup of crushed ice per serving. More ice than that and you are drinking a slush with no flavour left.
Glass and ice
A stemmed, shallow coupe. The stem keeps your hand's warmth away from the drink, and the wide bowl carries the aroma to your nose. Served without ice.
Ingredient notes and substitutes
- White rum
- The Cuban style is light and dry, the Puerto Rican a little rounder. It is the base of the mojito and the daiquiri; swap in gold rum and the drink turns sweeter.
- Pineapple juice
- Pineapple juice. It foams on its own when shaken — that creamy head on a tiki drink comes from the pineapple, not from egg white.
- Fresh lime juice
- Freshly squeezed lime. Bottled lime tastes cooked and flat; one lime gives about 30 ml. If you have none, half lemon and half grapefruit juice comes closest.
- Fresh mint leaves
- The stem is bitter, so use the leaves. One clap between your palms before it goes in releases the oils and gives you the aroma without bruising it.
The Story
Another Don the Beachcomber drink, and one of the few blended tiki recipes that survived the format's long unfashionable decades.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a Missionary's Downfall mixed?
- It is blended and served in a coupe.
- How strong is a Missionary's Downfall?
- Roughly 16% ABV as served — right around a glass of wine — an aperitif or an early-evening drink.
- Can a Missionary's Downfall be made without alcohol?
- Simply leaving the spirit out does not work — the body and the bitterness go with it. The 86 alcohol-free recipes in the catalogue are built to hit that balance from the start.
- Is a Missionary's Downfall hard to make?
- Moderate. A shaker or mixing glass plus a strainer covers it.
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Alcoholic drink recipes are intended for those aged 18 and over. Please drink responsibly.