Bahamas Passionfruit and Banana Flower

 The Bahamas passionfruit and banana flower cocktail is inspired by this Bath and Body Works fragrance:

About the fragrance

I purchased this shower gel in 2021 because I wanted a fruity, tropical fragrance. I also owned it as a hand sanitizer at one point. It is currently unavailable online, but it will hopefully be back next spring break, although I believe its name was shortened to Passionfruit and Banana Flower in 2022.

The scent notes listed for this fragrance are:

Passionfruit

Pineapple leaves

Banana flower

Designing the cocktail

I used passionfruit La Croix for the mixer. Any passionfruit flavored sparkling water or soda would work. I used pineapple vodka for the pineapple note. I had hoped to use banana rum for the banana note to contribute to the tropical feel of the drink, but I could not find banana rum at my local grocery store. Instead I made a banana flavored simple syrup by boiling a mixture of equal parts sugar and water and stirring in imitation banana flavor right after turning off the heat.

Recipe

2 oz pineapple vodka

1 oz banana flavored simple syrup

6 oz passionfruit sparkling water or soda

Place two ice cubes in a glass. Add pineapple vodka and banana flavored simple syrup. Pour in passionfruit sparkling water or soda. For a non-alcoholic version, omit the pineapple vodka and add 1 oz pineapple simple syrup.

The finished cocktail

 

I enjoyed this cocktail. It was sweet and fruity, and I could clearly taste all three fruit flavors. However, it was the least visually striking fragrance inspired cocktail I have prepared. I had never had La Croix prior to making this cocktail, and I was disappointed to find that it was colorless rather than pink like the shower gel. Other sparkling water or soda brands might have different colored beverages for different flavors, omitting this problem. One could also add food coloring if one considers the visual effect of a cocktail to be important. I would recommend this cocktail to anyone who likes tropical fruit flavors and doesn't care whether a cocktail is Instagram worthy.