The Dirty Banana.
A rum and banana cocktail that brings you a naughty slice of island life...
Straight from the heart of your favorite Jamaican holiday, we give you the dirtiest of dirty bananas. Ok, so it’s technically not tiki, but it’s so *$%&!@* tasty I literally do not care!
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Dirty Banana - Jamaican Recipe
Ambrosia. Food of the gods. Also known as the Dirty Banana. At least... it's the liquid food of the gods. Look at all that potassium, vitamin C, fibre and B6 - it's almost a liquid superfood!
Creamy beyond belief, our version of the dirty banana is a perfect balance of two parts banana to two parts dirrrty. The natural banana flavor is heightened by the retro faux taste of the banana liqueur, whilst the combination of coffee and chocolate liqueurs adds a bittersweet almost earthy edge to the drink.With enough booze to sink a royal navy frigate, this banana based rum delight could well be your tropical ticket to cocktail heaven.
Creamy beyond belief, our version of the dirty banana is a perfect balance of two parts banana to two parts dirrrty. The natural banana flavor is heightened by the retro faux taste of the banana liqueur, whilst the combination of coffee and chocolate liqueurs adds a bittersweet almost earthy edge to the drink.With enough booze to sink a royal navy frigate, this banana based rum delight could well be your tropical ticket to cocktail heaven.
Servings 1
Ingredients
- 1 ½ oz Rum - white or golden depending on preference
- 1 oz Coffee Liqueur - preferably Kahlua
- 1 oz Banana Liqueur
- 1 oz Creme de Cacao - clear or coloured, it doesn't matter which
- 1 Fresh Banana - medium ripeness
- 1 oz Single Cream
- 1 oz Milk
- 6 oz Crushed Ice - for blending
- 1 Slice of Banana - with the skin left on
- 1 Pinch of Nutmeg
Method
- Leave the skin on the banana, and cut one slice out of it. This is your garnish. Cut a slit up to the middle of it and then put it aside. Now peel the rest of the banana and break it into pieces.
- Add all ingredients, apart from the coffee liqueur, (and your banana slice garnish) into a blender and blitz until the sound of the ice cracking stops.
- Pour the mix into a Hurricane glass, then pour the coffee liqueur over the top so it filters down through the cocktail. If it continues to sit on the surface, give it a slight stir to help it dissipate, but not enough to blend it fully in.
- Garnish with the slice of banana placed on the side of the glass, and finish with a good pinch of nutmeg scattered over the top of the drink.
- Top Tip: if you're entertaining and making a few of these, brush your banana garnish with lemon juice to stop it going brown!OR - if you feel like tiki-ing this drink up, why not get your banana dolphins out and pop one on the side?
Notes
The Dirty Banana is, by its island nature, a ‘house’ style drink that has a slightly different interpretation wherever it’s made. So there are quite a few things you can do that’ll switch it up based on preference, or get you closer to what you’ve had elsewhere.
Our version incorporates both chocolate and coffee liqueur, making it extra dirty, whilst many just use coffee liqueur and line the glass with chocolate syrup. We float the coffee so that it creates a beautiful swirl - similar to the Swimming Pool and it’s use of Blue Curacao - but many incorporate it as part of the blend.
You’ll also find that some recipes add an ounce of Rum Cream or Baileys. Now although this definitely brings even more booze to the table, we feel that the taste component it provides is satisfied by the existing use of rum and cream.
By the way, you can use whatever brand liqueurs you have in your bar or cupboard. Although our preference is Kahlua for the coffee, it’s really not a problem to use Tia Maria instead.
Variations
Non-alcoholic Dirty Banana
Outside of removing the alcohol, there’s a couple of options here. If you’re making it for the kids, swap the banana, coffee and chocolate liqueurs for syrups of the equivalent taste, but only use ½ oz of each, otherwise it’ll be way to sweet. Then use a pinch of chocolate powder on the top rather than nutmeg. However, if it’s for an adult, a more sophisticated twist is to swap out the ingredients as per the kids version, but instead of using chocolate syrup, go for ½ oz of Allspice Syrup (see our really simple homemade recipe). What this does to the flavor profile is next level, bringing in notes of cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg, almost creating a whole new drink.Want to make it a Filthy Banana?
Swap the white or golden rum for a dark funky Jamaican. This'll bring layers of molasses and earthiness to the drink, adding depth and structure whilst offsetting the sweetness of the syrups. And as a bonus, the balance this starts to bring to the profile takes it a step or two closer to the whole tiki vibe.Are you looking for a low calorie, slightly less dirty banana?
Use a low-fat banana instead. 🍌 Get real! this is a high calorie excuse to get steaming whilst drinking a kids milkshake and reminiscing about good times spent in Jamaica! 🌴 It’s not a health drink and quite frankly, after you’ve drunk one you’re probably going to have a couple more - so there goes your entire calorie count for the day - but to be fair, by that point you’ll be on such a happy island vibe it really won’t matter! 😀 Ok, ok, I hear you, less of the booze bully angst. So if this was a bit of a treat and you still wanted to keep it within the bounds of a reasonable calorie count, what could you do that would make it a bit healthier whilst maintaining the rich flavor… Take out the milk and cream and add in 2 oz more ice. When blended with the banana it’ll still have a milkshake mouthfeel, though not quite as smooth. Or you could swap out for skimmed milk instead. If you then remove the Creme de Cacao it’ll lose a layer of richness but it will maintain the dirrrty flavor, and you’ll have dropped one of the more calorific components. Low-calorie banana booze heaven here we come!Make mine a Dirrrty Banana… Buy now
We put a whole lotta love, lime and rum into our work, so if you think your friends would find this article useful, we’d be thrilled if you could share it with them!
Thank you. Mahalo.
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