Mango Mulata

I was sure that we had an unopened bottle of lemonade, one of those giant Kirkland brand that they sell as a two-pack at Costco. I was sure that someone in the family had carried the bottle up from the basement and set it on the kitchen island.

I had already added the ice and alcohol to my glass and would be damned if I let it go to waste. Four ounces of booze was going to be used, somehow.

In the fridge, we had a jug of mango nectar, also from Costco. Would this make a decent substitute for lemonade?

A couple of years ago, I posted a recipe for my version of a cocktail that I had when the family and I were in sunny Cuba. It was a lemon-based drink that featured Kahlua and dark rum, and an 'elixir' that I could never determine. It's called a mulata.

When I tried to replicate the cocktail, I ended up making something different but that captures the essence of the cool summer drink. I ended up calling it the Brownfoot Mulata.

So, here I was, with a 20-ounce pint glass, filled with ice, one ounce of Kahlua, two ounces of dark rum, and another ounce of Malibu coconut rum. All I had to do was add the lemonade and stir; only, I found myself without the lemonade.

So I filled the glass with mango nectar, instead. And a new drink was born: the mango mulata.

Creamy and sweet, with traces of coffee and coconut, this spiked beverage was magical. Give it a try.

I later learned that DD18, who went to an outdoor get-together with her friend (both wore masks and kept a safe distance, even though both are fully vaccinated), took the lemonade with her.

Lemon or mango, both drinks are going to make this summer cooler.

Mango mulata

• 20-oz glass, filled with ice
• 2 oz dark rum
• 1 oz coconut rum
• 1 oz Kahlua
• fill remainder of glass with mango nectar (for a Brownfoot mulata, use lemonade) and stir

Cheers!