The method
How to make it
Cube half a dragon fruit, the pink-fleshed kind if your store has it, and muddle it thoroughly with the simple syrup.
Juice a thick wedge of pineapple. Dragon fruit whispers, and an ounce of fresh pineapple juice gives it a louder tropical backbone without burying it.
Add vodka, coconut rum and lime juice.
Fill with ice, shake hard for 12 seconds, and double strain into a chilled coupe.
Garnish with a skin-on dragon fruit wedge and a small pineapple frond, both fruits that went into the glass.
The serve
How to present it
Vivid pink in a chilled coupe with the dragon-scale wedge on the rim, it looks engineered and is entirely fruit. The flavor is subtle, kiwi-adjacent, so the coconut rum and lime carry the melody. Serve it when you want the table to stop and ask questions.
Make it yours
Swaps & variations
Swap the coconut rum for more vodka and extra lime for a cleaner, drier glass. Blend the whole thing with ice for a frozen version the color of a highlighter. White-fleshed dragon fruit plus a few raspberries muddled in fakes the pink and adds actual flavor, the produce manager never has to know.
Keep pouring
