(Saltmarsh) If you can hold your breath long enough to venture about 70 feet underwater, you’ll find an enchanted grotto bar called The Cove. As you swim down through the azure ocean waters, a coral arrow will point the way to the entrance. As you emerge from the depths into the air pocket of the grotto you’ll see a beautiful – if but a touch gaudy – bar adorned with underwater plants and embedded pearls and sea glass. The shelves built into the rock wall behind the bar hold all sorts of indigo, green, and violet-colored spirits. As you swim up to the submerged bar seats, you’ll be greeted by an ethereal Sea-Elf named Iridanasa. She hands you a menu and awaits your order.
I created The Cove as an additional bar in Saltmarsh because I thought the underwater aspect would be cool (it was). To get there, the party had to jump off a cliff called The Leap and swim down into the water. They also had to pass an investigation check to spot the coral arrow since it’s supposed to be a secret bar.
I gave them an imaginary cocktail menu as well that featured:
- The Reef: Muddled seaweed with uni liqueur, spiced rum, and a ground sea urchin rim
- The Abyss: Squid ink with ale and a white rum floater
- The Island: Creme of coconut, aged rum, mango, and garnished with floating flower
- The Bubble: A mysterious cocktail encapsulated in a shimmering golden bubble that must consumed underwater
I’ll likely build IRL cocktails for these at some point, but for now I’ll start with The Gloria since it definitely looks like a drink Iridanasa would serve at The Cove.
I came across this recipe on reddit and learned that The Gloria is featured on the menu of the Boston-based Blossom Bar and was created by bartender extraordinaire, Ran Duan. I used the (now-deleted) reddit user’s recipe and modified a bit to my taste.
It’s an EXQUISITE tropical cocktail; a damn vacation in a glass.
You get the fresh mint on the nose and your sip starts with a nutty, slightly bitter coffee syrup. Then you get hit with a strong citrus-passionfruit blast quickly followed by the creamy mascarpone and hint of cinnamon.
It packs so much flavor into one sip, but finishes so nice and smooth that you want to keep going back for another drink.
It has some specialty ingredients that sound a bit odd together but it’s well worth the leap.
The Gloria
Ingredients:
- 2.5 oz Bacardi Superior White Rum (I believe Blossom Bar uses an añejo but I prefer white rum in this)
- 1.5 oz Lime Juice
- 1.5 oz Passionfruit Syrup
- 0.5 oz Mr. Black Coffee Liqueur
- 0.5 – 1 TBS of mascarpone cheese (adjust for preference)
- A sprinkle of ground cinnamon
- Fresh mint for garnish
Instructions:
- Add all ingredients (except the mint) to your shaker and shake for a solid 30-60 seconds with ice*. You want to fully break up the mascarpone cheese and get the drink nice and frothy. Strain into a Collins glass over crushed ice, garnish with a generous spring of mint. Sip and float away to your own personal Cove bar!
- *The most recent time I made The Gloria, I actually used an immersion blender in the shaker before adding and shaking over ice. If you have one, I highly recommend this method because it’ll break up the mascarpone much quicker and much more thoroughly.
The Bourbon Dragon 