The Double Rainbow Cocktail
July 05, 2010
I decided to create a drink to honor the best video of the weekend, "Yosemitebear Mountain Giant Double Rainbow 1-8-10". (Scroll down to see it if you haven't already.)
It's guaranteed to make you say, "DOUBLE COMPLETE RAINBOW! What does this MEAN?"
The Double Rainbow
by Camper English
1 ounce vodka
1 ounce St. Germain elderflower liqueur
4 or so ounces of soda water
4 dashes of grapefruit bitters (Fee Brothers brand)
lemon peel for garnish
rainbow ice cubes
Make rainbow ice by adding food coloring to an ice cube tray, filling with water and freezing. (For more fun with ice, see the index of all of the ice experiments on Alcademics here.)
Cut lemon peel into stars. Add all ingredients to a glass filled with ice in rainbow order (two cubes per color, making it a double complete rainbow). Garnish with lemon stars.
This cocktail I actually created for a wedding several months back, but thought it would be appropriate here. (It's not so original that I would be surprised if many other people have created this same drink. I just poured it on rainbow ice.)
Note: If you enjoyed this video-inspired cocktail, perhaps you'd also enjoy the Honey Badger Shot.
The video that inspired the drink is after the jump. Double rainbow all the way!
(head explodes and is eaten by bear)
Posted by: Mr Manhattan | July 06, 2010 at 09:28 AM
haha i don't know if yosemite on 1/8 would look like that
Posted by: josh | July 07, 2010 at 12:03 AM
That's a great looking cocktail! We're really enjoying anything with St. Germain's these days, so I'll bet this one will be a winner, too!
Posted by: Samblankenship | July 07, 2010 at 07:19 AM
Tip Top Patio/backyard cocktail. Makes me want to play hookie.
Posted by: Doo Magoo | July 07, 2010 at 08:13 AM
Very attractive.
Posted by: Robert Simonson | July 08, 2010 at 05:01 PM
Rainbow Brite would be all over this. As would I.
Posted by: Jen | July 19, 2010 at 10:27 PM
Fantastic!! I posted a link on Edible Crafts, too. (ediblecrafts.craftgossip.com)
Posted by: meaghan (chic cookies) | July 20, 2010 at 06:04 AM
This drink is AMAZING!!! How do you make lemon stars? Are they just the lemon peel? Thanks!!
Posted by: Laurie | July 20, 2010 at 07:34 AM
Laurie- I use aspic cutters- you can fund them at Williams- Sonoma
Posted by: Camper English | July 20, 2010 at 07:50 AM
Am I correct that the ice cube colors are red, yellow, green, blue and clear? And the lovely orange just comes from the red and yellow mixing?
Posted by: Jennifer | July 20, 2010 at 04:38 PM
WTF? Am I the only one who has noticed it's just one - count 'em - one fucking rainbow? False advertising.
Posted by: drinkandreddit | July 20, 2010 at 08:08 PM
beautiful - off to freeze my ice
Posted by: cara | July 21, 2010 at 03:26 AM
Great concept, Camper. I'm pinching a link for next Monday's Bartender Bulletin.
Posted by: gaz regan | July 21, 2010 at 04:52 AM
Yes the orange is the mingling of red and yellow at the bottom of the glass.
Posted by: Camper English | July 21, 2010 at 06:32 AM
There are two of each ice cube- Double Rainbow all the way across the glass!
Posted by: Camper English | July 21, 2010 at 06:33 AM
Great idea! Not enough colored or flavored ice cubes in cocktails.
Posted by: Gin & Bear It | July 22, 2010 at 11:10 AM
But what does it mean?????? *sobbing*
Posted by: Maku | July 25, 2010 at 12:56 AM
I did some ice tests but the coloring splits when the water is freezing. I'll try to add more colorant.
Posted by: Aviers | July 25, 2010 at 03:43 PM
It's so simple that it's just perfect and all that much more amazing!
Posted by: Jelly Shot Test Kitchen | July 26, 2010 at 07:03 PM
Your drink recipe has gone viral, too! Found it linked to another blog, and wanted to know who had this wonderful idea! BEst video of 2010!
Thanks for being so creative. xx
Posted by: Mummy Dearest | January 02, 2011 at 08:12 PM
When I made this all the colours bled and it turned to a dark mess-what am I doing wrong?
Posted by: j | July 30, 2011 at 07:46 PM
Eventually they will all bleed together, but hopefully not too soon. Try using a smaller amount of the food coloring in the ice cubes so there won't be so much of the dye on the outside of the cubes when you put them in a drink. Chill all of your cocktail ingredients as well as your glassware so that they don't start melting the cubes right away - that should help a bit as well. Good luck!
Posted by: Camper English | July 31, 2011 at 11:25 AM
Thanks for the tips-I'll try again!
Posted by: j | August 02, 2011 at 03:17 PM
"4 dashes" Sorry, but I don't understand what this ammounts to. I get that it's a pretty small ammount but I don't know what to compare it to. I'm not english (I'm French), so I don't get the expression.
Posted by: Wader6666 | October 04, 2011 at 05:08 PM
The bitters bottle has a cap that only allows a dash to come out at a time. Each dash is probably the equivalent of three drops.
Posted by: Camper English | October 05, 2011 at 01:10 AM
I am making these for New Years and blogging and linking back here. Thank you for sharing!
Posted by: CBE | December 31, 2011 at 01:55 PM
Nice! If you make the rainbow ice, remember to cool your liquid ingredients first so they don't melt the cubes too fast and blur all the colors together.
Posted by: Camper English | December 31, 2011 at 03:28 PM
Hello, I was wondering if you can switch the grapefruit bitters from fee brothers with something else? Because they don't sell them here in Sweden, and ordering will unfortunatly take too long.
Posted by: Mattias Carlström | May 26, 2012 at 09:18 AM
If you don't have any bitters at all, you can cut down the St. Germain to .5 ounces and add a grapefruit peel.
However, you might also consider making your own grapefruit bitters at home. Here's a simple recipe (substitute vodka for bourbon): http://www.slashfood.com/2010/01/13/grapefruit-bitters-lenell-it-all/
Posted by: Camper English | May 26, 2012 at 02:12 PM
Wow - this is one that definitely a looker! Amazing looking cocktail. Thanks for sharing the ingredients and instructions!
Posted by: Jerry | February 04, 2013 at 09:16 PM
WOWZIE! The person taping this "double rainbow" had to have had a couple "Double Rainbow" SHOTS while filming this! Woo Hoo...he was definitely having a good day, but the headache the next day had to be a doozie!
Posted by: Cindy B | July 23, 2013 at 01:46 PM
It sounds to me that a spirit took him over to make him cry like that.
Posted by: EX | August 25, 2013 at 05:31 AM
How can I subscribe to ur bulliten?
[email protected]
Posted by: Donna | September 10, 2013 at 01:16 PM
Camper, I don't get how to make the cubes. How much food colouring do you put in each ice cube segment? Do you then mix it evenly with the water or just leave it sitting there? Thanks
Posted by: P Jordan | December 07, 2013 at 01:09 PM
Experimenting is part of the fun - give it a try and see what works best...
Posted by: Camper English | December 07, 2013 at 03:27 PM