Kingfisher’s Jungle Fang: refreshing, tropical, spicy

“We put a lot of emphasis on providing a very welcoming environment,” says Beverage Director David Tye about the ambiance that Kingfisher has so lovingly curated. “A place where you come in, being like, ‘Alright, I’m about to have something real special here.’”

The cocktail menu is divided into two sections: minimalist and maximalist. The latter, he says, offers “cocktails that have more interesting ingredients, more esoteric, more uncommon. When a guest comes in and doesn’t recognize half the ingredients, I’m like ‘Good. I want that. Here’s something new, something different that might excite you.’”

And that’s where you’ll find Jungle Fang, which Tye describes as a perfect “hot day” cocktail. “Essentially, this is based off a pina colada...but I went in a very different direction, based on a couple of additional flavors. Just like a pina colada, you’ve still got your coconut, lime, pineapple. But no rum — there’s tequila in it.” He notes, “I wanted to throw a tiki, tropical-esque type of cocktail on the menu, but I didn’t want to go with traditional rum on that aspect.”

Adding to the mix are two unique flavors that show up on both sides of the Pacific. “The other liqueur is called Huana, which is a guanabana liqueur. And guanabana — [found] in Mexico, Yucatan area — is also known as a soursop in southeast Asia. Same fruit, different name. And then on top of that, there’s a little bit of tamarind as well, which is a really popular flavor in both Mexico and southeast Asia.”

He credits Specialty Produce as the source of another off-the-beaten-path ingredient. “On the rim, you have stuff called ‘Venom Salt’ — crushed Trinidad scorpion peppers and salt mixed together. It’s very spicy,” he emphasizes. “Coconut is definitely the way to get rid of the spice, to balance it out. If your mouth’s on fire, you throw some coconut in there. So you can go really spicy, and bring it back up and down.” Plus, he says, “At the end of the day, ‘Venom Salt’ just reads cool on a menu.”

Jungle Fang arrives with two pineapple leaves poking out of a tall flute filled with a milky cocktail, and a lick of red-speckled salt ready at the rim. “It’s a very delicious cocktail. If you love spicy cocktails, I think this is great for ya! It’s refreshing, it’s tropical, but it still has that burn in there.”

Kingfisher’s

Jungle Fang

• 1 oz. Real De Valle Blanco Tequila
• 1 oz. Huana Guanabana Liquor
• 1.5 oz. Pineapple
• .75 oz. Lime
• 1 oz. Liquid Alchemist Coconut Syrup
• .5 oz. Liquid Alchemist Tamarind Syrup

• Combine all Ingredients into a cocktail shaker. Quick shake with pebble or crushed ice. Dump all into a tall beer flute glass (pint glass also works) rimmed with SaltWorks Venom Salt. Add pineapple wedge & pineapple leaf garnish.