During a guided craft cocktail tour in New York we were recommended by our guide to buy a spirit we’d never heard of before; Solbeso.

The pale yellow bottle contains a clear spirit based on fresh cacao fruit. But hold on, this is not another one of these overly sweet chocolate liqueurs you wonder how anyone can actually drink. No, this a a very refreshing, crisp spirit with an amazing aroma and a noticeable but not overpowering touch of cacao. Just drinking it on the rocks is probably a good way of enjoying it.

We however tried it in a Daiquiri-like cocktail, mixing two ounces Solbeso, one ounce fresh lime juice and half an ounce of simple syrup. The fruity aroma of the Solbeso is what’s most noticeable about this cocktail, but of course also the taste is really good. Solbeso’s flavor is a bit hard to describe, but it does add some exotic elements to a cocktail. Probably this will become a common ingredient in trendy tiki drinks.

We managed to buy our bottle at well stocked Astor Wines & Spirits in New York. The matching vintage glassware on the picture we found at BYOB Cocktail Emporium in Toronto.