La Grande Passion Cocktail

This is the signature cocktail of La Grande Passion, a passion fruit liqueur designed by Grand Marnier as a specialty item back in the 1990s. It didn't sell well and was costly to make, but La Grande Passion appeared in classic and tropical recipes in cocktail books published in the two or so years that it was on the market.

I've recreated as closely as possible the original recipe, keeping in mind that Grand Marnier's recipe is a product of distillation and not infusion. Still, a strong infusion and careful straining and sweetening can copy such a meticulously crafted distilled spirit. More on how to make this spirit later. First the cocktail recipe:

• 1 1/2 oz. La Grande Passion
• 1 oz. Grand Marnier
• juice of 1/2 a lemon
• sugar syrup to taste (optional and proportionate to the size of the lemon)

 Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Now for the La Grande Passion recipe:

• 10 passion fruits
• armagnac
• 1 oz. dark chocolate shavings
• 1/2 cup sugar syrup

Add the seeds and pulp of 10 passion fruits to a large jar and fill the jar with a quality armagnac like Larressingle. Shave chocolate into the jar and store it in a dark and cool place for 30 days.

Strain the passion fruit and chocolate out of the infusion with cheese cloth, then strain out the smaller particles by pouring the infusion through a coffee filter.

Cook a 1:1 white sugar simple syrup and allow it to cool. Add 1/2 sugar syrup, stir and seal for 15 more days. (At this point you can transfer the infusion to a bottle for storage.)