Summer cocktail tasting at Santa Maluco...

You know the words ‘cocktail’ and ‘tasting’ in the same sentence always grab my attention, so I felt very fortunate to be invited along for a private cocktail tasting at Santa Maluco on Friday. I shared with you in a previous post that Santa Maluco is one of Liverpool’s hottest new hang outs serving a divine list of cocktails and wood-fired pizza by the slice rodizio style. I love the light and bright feel to the space, which has a vibrant colour scheme and an elongated bar area surrounded by large tables which create a convivial ambience. After a warm welcome, I settled in for my first cocktail of the evening, the Sao Paulo Spritz which is a long and cooling drink which consists of Cachaca, Aperol, Rhubarb, orange juice and prosecco poured over ice and garnished with lime. This conjured up a sun drenched terrace in Brazil, the perfect summer drink.

 Next it was on to the Caipirinha, a Brazilian classic which most of us are familiar with, this was zesty and refreshing without being too sharp and the blend of Cachaça, sugar and fresh lime muddled together is hard to beat when it comes to a simple cocktail which works well. By this point I was getting in to my cocktail tasting groove and the bar was beginning to fill up with people popping in after work for some pizza and drinks. 

I was treated to the next cocktail of the evening, a Bacon Maple Old Fashioned, made with bacon rinsed bourbon, maple syrup and bitters. Even though I am not much of a Bourbon drinker, I always enjoy an old fashioned, which is a smoky and elegant drink evocative of wood panelled drawing rooms and roaring log fires.

The thought of a daiquiri of any kind always makes me think of sunny evenings and even though the skies were overcast, the Blueberry Daiquiri brought the summer vibes right to me with a blend of rum, lime, blueberry liqueur, blueberry syrup and a garnish of fresh blueberries. This cooling cocktail is blended with ice, creating a chilled drink which would pair well with a slice of spicy pizza.

Last but not least, I had the chance to try one of the legendary $5 Dollar Shakes, a sweet mixture of vodka, Chambord, milk, blueberry jam and ice cream. Topped with fresh cream and served in a milk bottle this is a fun cocktail which was an instant hit with me, delivering a nice balance of flavour and enough sweetness to make this a perfect dessert cocktail.

There is a cocktail on the menu to appeal to eveyrbody at Santa Maluco, with a wide selection from new takes on classic drinks to the 'project blender' selection including those irresistible frozen daiquiris. After all of those delicious cocktails, my partner arrived and we moved from the bar to a table for two where we ordered a pizza for dinner, with half Margherita and half Cinco Quejo toppings. 

A gigantic thin and crispy wood-fired pizza was the ideal way to complete the evening at Santa Maluco and it was a voyage of discovery to taste some of their signature cocktails, taking me from the hazy sunset of Sao Paulo to the American diner style fun of the $5 Dollar Shake. 

Which of these cocktails would you like to try? As always I cannot wait to hear your thoughts and thank you so much for reading this post.

Santa Maluco 

2 Castle Street 

Liverpool 

L20NE 

Until; next time, 

Camille 

xo