Mango, Mango, Mango Party With Mango!
Year after year, you prepare the same cocktails at your annual pool party. You prepare these beverages because they are proven to be quite popular with your guests. During the last annual pool bash, you overheard someone say, “These again? They always make these drinks and they don’t have any other alternatives other than water or soda!” You cringe after hearing this and think to yourself that next time you’re going to have to change up the cocktails you normally serve.
Mango
This year’s theme would be tropical, but specifically center around the mango fruit. Snacks that included mango flavors to mango-inspired cocktails and beverages would make an appearance at the party. I sat there looking at an empty glass trying to figure out a way to kick-start my mango-inspired cocktail. I wanted to make a cocktail that promoted the feeling of being at an exotic beach somewhere. Searching online, I came across the perfect recipe for the party. Ingredients for the recipe include mango puree, orange juice, grenadine, Passoa, and pineapple rum. I compiled the ingredients and read the recipe’s instructions. It said to fill a high ball glass with ice then pour in the rum with the mango puree and stir well. Next, add Passoa to the top of the drink and then a dash of grenadine. For garnish, it is recommended to us a wedge or wheel of orange. After making the cocktail, looking at it reminded me of being at the beach during sunset. I was thrilled!
Eats
So I found the perfect drink to make for this year’s pool party. The next thing on the list was the food. Who goes to a party that doesn’t have any food? No one does. So I thought since I kick-started the drinks, I needed to kick-start the food as well. Since it was going to be a pool party, I didn’t want to serve anything heavy. I decided on offering various snacks and candies. I decided to make some nachos that included a mango-flavored salsa with cheese and for the health conscious, dehydrated mango fruit with no added sugar. As for the candies, I’d distribute various types of candies that include a tropical variety of flavors that, of course, included mango. Perhaps I would even consider adding gummy mango in on the mix and some fresh mangoes to consume and use as decorations as well.
Health Benefits
Most of my guests are, on average, moderately health-conscious. I know, I know, I’m throwing a party not a health seminar; however, it’s always good to have additional information about the things we consume. I will be using mango extensively for the party, so in line with the mango theme, I decided to look up how consuming fresh mango fruit benefits our health. Dubbed the “king of fruit” an article describes mangos to contain substantial amounts of vitamins A and C. In it, it describes consuming half a mango will only cost seventy calories and that a mango can contain up to “40% of your daily fiber requirement.” Additionally, the article gives a brief history of the mango, it’s origin and when it traveled the world to become the “king of fruit.” A fast fact that is included in the article is mangoes are related to the cashew, pistachio, and poison ivy. Great! While my guests enjoy their tropical drink that contains mango puree, I will know that I am also providing them with a healthy fruit to indulge with.
Party Time
The day had arrived for the annual pool party. Everyone who attended was immediately greeted with the new cocktail I made. They were all impressed and surprised that I had changed up the drinks and the snacks this time around. They asked what was the inspiration behind the mango theme. I humbly replied, “swimming equals beach which equals tropical which took me to mangos.” They laughed but agreed that the drink was delicious. The person who mentioned they were “bored” of my drinks last year, asked for the cocktail recipe and specifically how I was able to capture the mango flavor. I said to them, “it’s all about the mango puree.” The party continued on until it was time for people to head out. As other guests started to leave, I overhead them say how the cocktail certainly reminded them of a tropical sunset. They mentioned that the only thing missing was the sand. By the time the last person left, I had enough to make one last cocktail for the evening. I took my drink, took a picture and posted, “Yep! I had just made the #TheUltimateMangoDrink” on social media.
I love Mango in my smoothie or I can eat them raw. They are also great in salsa.