Dapper, suspender-clad Mixologist Daniel Grisales Mesa has worked for the past six years at the wrap-around bar in the vaulted ceilinged lobby of the Aruba Marriott Resort.

He appreciates how the company has given him the opportunity to grow by encouraging him to come up with unique Aruban-inspired cocktails – like this one – for trips abroad to promote the resort.

As he shakes together rosemary-infused gin, elderflower liqueur, aloe and grapefruit juices and strains it into a Martini glass, your eyes are naturally drawn to his forearms.

“I have two beautiful and spoiled daughters,” he jokes. “This tattoo is the footprint of my first daughter, from after she was born, that I scanned and put on my arm. This other one,” he says, pointing further along his forearm, “is from after my wife and I got married. She got a heart with a lock and I got the key. And I have three clocks. One is the time I got married and the others are the times my daughters were born.”

This cocktail, the Aloe Paradise, is beautiful and sneaky – maybe a bit like Daniel’s daughters. “If you like sweet drinks, strong drinks, fancy drinks, you’ll have everything at the same time,” he says. “It’ll get you.”

Aloe Paradise
Makes 1 cocktail

1 ½ oz. rosemary-infused gin
½ oz. St-Germain elderflower liqueur
1 oz. aloe juice
1 oz. fresh grapefruit juice
A dash of simple syrup
A slice of dehydrated orange and a sprig of rosemary to garnish, optional
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1. Combine the gin, elderflower liqueur, aloe, grapefruit juice and simple syrup with ice in a cocktail shaker.

2. Shake then strain into a Martini glass.

3. Swirl the elderflower foam on top like whipped cream, starting from the outside and working inwards in circles so that the whole top is covered.

4. Garnish with the orange slice and rosemary sprig.

ROSEMARY-INFUSED GIN

To infuse your own gin, add three sprigs of fresh rosemary to a bottle of gin – Daniel uses Hendrick’s – for one or two days, then strain it through cheesecloth. “Longer than that and it gets bitter,” he says.

ELDERFLOWER FOAM

Daniel’s recipe makes 10 to 15 cocktails, so if you’re not planning to serve that many within a day (if you’re using fresh egg whites) or a few days (if you’re using pasteurized egg whites), use the leftover foam on top of cakes, ice cream or fresh strawberries, like a boozy whipped cream. If you don’t have a siphon, whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks with a sprinkle of sugar, then carefully stir in the liquids and spoon the foam on top of the Martini.

1. Combine all ingredients in a siphon.

2. Seal it and charge with one CO₂ canister.

3. Refrigerate until needed.

3 egg whites
4 oz. elderflower liqueur
4 oz. cranberry juice
2 oz. Cointreau

1. You can find bottled aloe juice at the grocery store. It’s usually sweetened, so Daniel tastes the cocktail before shaking it to make sure the balance is right. Remember that the ice will dilute the drink a little after shaking it, so it should be a little sweeter than you think. You can always add more grapefruit juice later.

2. Don’t skip the rosemary in the gin. It adds much-needed bitterness that cuts through the sugar.