Okay, so “Acapulco Angola” – sounds exotic, right? I’d heard whispers of this being some kind of amazing cocktail, so I had to try making it myself. This is my journey from total newbie to… well, someone who can at least make a decent drink.
First Steps: What the Heck is It?
My first move was to hit up the internet, of course. I typed in “Acapulco Angola” and… not much. Some scattered mentions, a few blurry pictures, but no solid recipe. It seemed like one of those things everyone’s heard of, but nobody actually knows.
I did find some stuff that at least gave me clues.
- It seemed to be a rum-based drink. Good start, I love rum.
- There was mention of pineapple, which is always a winner.
- Something about coconut cream… getting interesting.
- And lime, that seems to be a standard.
Experimentation Time (aka Making a Mess)
Armed with this very basic info, I decided to just wing it. I mean, how hard could it be? (Famous last words, right?)
I started out with a base, and decided to give it a shot.
I grabbed my shaker, some ice, and started throwing stuff in. I went with:
- About 2 ounces of white rum (because that’s what I had).
- A good splash of pineapple juice – maybe 4 ounces?
- An ounce of coconut cream (the thick, sweet stuff).
- A squeeze of lime – probably half a lime’s worth.
I shook the heck out of it, poured it into a glass, and… eh. It was okay. Kind of sweet, a little bland. Definitely needed something.
Round Two: Getting Closer
I figured it needed more punch. So, for the next try, I tweaked things a bit:
- Upped the rum to 2.5 ounces.
- Added a dash of Angostura bitters (because why not?).
- Used a whole lime this time.
- A tiny pinch of salt.
I shook, poured, and… much better! The bitters gave it a nice little kick, the extra lime balanced the sweetness, and the salt just kind of made all the flavors pop. It still wasn’t perfect, but it was definitely drinkable.
The “Aha!” Moment (Maybe?)
After a few more tries (and a bit of a buzz), I think I finally landed on something I’m happy with. It’s still not “authentic” Acapulco Angola, maybe because I don’t even know if that exists, but it’s my Acapulco Angola.
And I do feel it is pretty good, maybe because I was enjoying the drink as I was creating it, so my memory of the flavor profile may be off, or I’m very close.
The best result so far was:
- 2.5 ounces of white rum
- 4 ounces of pineapple juice
- 1 ounce of coconut cream
- Juice of 1 whole lime
- 2 dashes of Angostura bitters
- Pinch of salt
- A little bit of orange zest that I scrapped off from an orange
So, that’s my Acapulco Angola adventure. It might not be the “real” thing, but it’s a tasty drink I made myself, and that’s good enough for me. It proves that sometimes, you just gotta jump in and experiment, even if you have no idea what you’re doing!
