Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/61075
WORLD OF FLAVOR Miami Advice S story and photos by Kelly Merritt South Beach Dicey: Clarke's Irish Pub owner and mixologist Laura Cullen. 118 / the tasting panel / april 2012 pend a week in Jalisco, Mexico, and there's no telling what kind of visions you'll bring back to the States. In the case of Laura Cullen, who owns Clarke's Irish Pub in Miami, the revealing south-of-the-border trip netted a sweet and spicy cocktail creation. "The idea behind the Jalisco Sunrise is to express the inspiration I found for the drink in spending a week in Jalisco," says Cullen. "That's where tequila is made, and there is a lot of citrus, a lot of spice there. It's a very colorful place, both in the landscape and the people." Cullen's Jalisco Sunrise consists of Jose Cuervo Platino and Amoretti Blood Orange Syrup, fresh lime juice, a dash of Sriracha and a pinch of sea salt, with rock salt and cayenne pepper for the rim. She began crafting the potent cocktail with a meditation on the Tequila Sunrise and eventually settled on a cross between a Margarita and Martini, with rainbows of sweet, savory and spicy flavors. Since blood orange has become the haute couture go-to flavor for über-chefs in everything from sorbet to gastrique, it's only natural that Amoretti's Blood Orange Syrup would find its way into cocktails prepared by enterprising mixologists like Cullen, who is known for her fearless approach to hearty cocktails. Cullen also makes a mean Irish coffee with Amoretti's Pistachio Syrup. Now, she's casting a spell on blood orange enthusiasts with her Jalisco Sunrise, which could be a hot-blooded answer to the over-ordered Bloody Mary. "When you look at the drink, you think it will be sweet, but it's a little bit of a sur- SOUTH-OF-THE-BORDER SPICE AND AMORETTI BLOOD ORANGE SYRUP MAKE A FASHION- FORWARD COCKTAIL WITH A TOUCH OF THE DEVIL