Chronicle Editor
As we bid farewell to the festive season and its seasonal extravagance, let’s transition to more refined adult beverages. Recently, my destination of choice for a leisurely evening was none other than Carne Casa, a renowned Brazilian steak house in Bulawayo and a personal favourite.
If you’ve been following this column, you’ll recall that Carne Casa was the inaugural establishment featured for its stellar cocktail offerings.
So there have been a couple of changes there, positive that is. Their cocktail menu has ballooned with a wide range of colourful and exciting recipes.
On this particular excursion, I had the pleasure of conversing with the vivacious and talented lady who is the establishment’s resident mixologist and operations manager — Issabel Ngwenya.
Issabel, with infectious enthusiasm, shared insights into the positive changes at Carne Casa, particularly the expansion of their cocktail menu.
For our focus today, let’s dive into the exquisite “Tropical Long Island” cocktail, a creation requiring a harmonious blend of 10 essential ingredients: silver tequila, gin, vodka, cane spirit, white rum, strawberry liqueur, blue curaçao, simple syrup, lemon juice and the distinctive choice of Mazoe orange crush or passion fruit — Issabel’s preference being Mazoe.
Exact proportions, she teased, remain a guarded secret, enticing readers to savour the mystery.
Preparing the Tropical Long Island involves a meticulous process.
Here’s the process: Start by rimming your glass with soft white sugar. Then add ice to your glass after pouring in the Mazoe. Next, introduce the strawberry liqueur before blending in all the other spirits; shake the mixture thoroughly in your bar shaker with ice. Following that, pour in some lemon juice before finishing it off with a graceful touch of blue curaçao, resulting in a beautifully colourful drink,” explained Issabel.
“You also need to have your garnish, lemon and a strawberry.”
And just as expected the melange has a beautiful taste and aroma that I am sure the ladies would appreciate.
As a tempting incentive, Issabel shared news of Carne Casa’s daily cocktail rush hour promotion from 4 to 6pm, featuring five enticing flavours: Long Island, Blueberry Caipirinha, Strawberry Margarita, Lekkerlicious and Mai Tai. Fridays add an extra layer of excitement with a two-hour cocktail rotezeo, presenting an opportunity to relish the mellowness of their signature cocktails alongside delectable steaks.
As we embark on the weekend, revel in the blissful and refined experience Carne Casa offers.
If you believe your establishment has a drink worthy of profiling, connect via WhatsApp at 0772337433. Remember, alcohol is not for sale to persons under the age of 18, so let’s toast responsibly.
Till next week, have a blissful and tipsy weekend.
Online Reporter