Name: Little Moon
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 9 ounces blanco tequila; 1/2 bitter melon (5 ounces), halved lengthwise, seeded, and sliced thin; 2 ounces bitter melon tequila; 1 ounce egg white; 3/4 ounce lime juice; 3/4 ounce recipe; 1/2 teaspoon melon liqueur; Bitter melon slice, for garnishing

Why This Recipe Works

Every truly great cocktail achieves balance, with all its components melding together as a satisfying whole. Most shaken cocktails are a study in keeping acidity in check with sweetness, but achieving balance with bitterness is a far greater challenge. Using a rapid infusion technique pioneered by cocktail luminary Dave Arnold, we find that we can capture bitter melon’s most palatable notes while leaving its harsher qualities behind. Since long, warm infusions extract bitterness, we do the opposite, using a short, room-temperature pressurized infusion to pull out the lighter aromatic compounds before the heavier bitter ones could follow. After testing bitter-melon infusions using gin, vodka, tequila, and rum, tequila emerged as the clear winner, its grassy herbaceous quality a natural echo of the bitter melon’s astringency. Melon liqueur adds body and juicy, fruity sweetness, while egg white lends a cloud of silky foam to finish this complex, dangerously quaffable cocktail.

Before You Begin

This recipe yields enough bitter melon tequila to make four cocktails. We developed this using a 16-ounce iSi cream whipper and two N₂O cartridges. To double the recipe, use a 1-quart cream whipper; you may need to increase the number of N₂O cartridges to achieve the proper level of infusion.

Instructions

for the bitter melon tequila

Combine 9 ounces blanco tequila and 5 ounces bitter melon, halved lengthwise, seeded, and sliced thin, in base of cream whipper. Screw cap on cream whipper and charge with 1 N₂O cartridge. Shake cream whipper for 20 seconds. Charge with 1 more N₂O cartridge and shake cream whipper for 20 seconds. Let cream whipper sit for 3 minutes.

With nozzle facing up, cover nozzle with paper towel (to catch any small amount of spray) and very slowly vent cream whipper completely. Strain mixture through fine-mesh strainer set over medium bowl, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible; discard solids. Transfer tequila to clean jar with tight-fitting lid and refrigerate for up to 1 month. (Liquor will keep indefinitely, but flavor will start to diminish).

for the cocktail

Add 2 ounces bitter melon tequila, 1 ounce egg white, ¾ ounce lime juice, ¾ ounce simple syrup, and ½ teaspoon melon liqueur to cocktail shaker and vigorously shake until mixture is foamy, about 45 seconds.

Fill shaker with ice, then shake mixture until fully combined and well chilled, about 15 seconds. Double-strain cocktail into chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with bitter melon slice and serve.