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The Pineapple Banana Refresher is a blended drink that uses pineapple twice, once as juice and once as sherbet. That doubling is the whole idea. The juice brings the acidity and the sherbet brings sugar, cold and body all at once, so the drink holds its texture instead of turning to water as the ice gives out.
Dark rum is an unusual choice for something this fruit-forward, and it is the reason the drink is more interesting than the name suggests. A white rum would vanish. Dark rum brings molasses and a bit of char that sits underneath the banana liqueur and keeps the whole thing from reading as a smoothie with alcohol in it. Two ounces of spirit across roughly eight ounces of drink makes it mild enough to serve in the afternoon.
Glass: Highball glass | Strength: Light | Serves: 1 | Prep Time: 3 minutes
Bartender’s tip: Sherbet is not ice cream and the two are not interchangeable here. Sherbet has a little dairy but is mostly fruit and sugar, so it stays bright and tart. Substituting vanilla ice cream turns this into a completely different and much heavier drink. If you cannot find pineapple sherbet, orange or lemon sherbet is a closer match than any ice cream. Add the ice last and blend in short bursts, checking as you go, because sherbet melts faster than you expect and an extra ten seconds is the difference between thick and soupy.
Steps
- Combine all ingredients in a blender.
- Blend until smooth, and pour into a highball glass.
- Garnish with a pineapple wedge and a slice of banana, and serve.
