Updated 3/6/2024
I recently tried my hand at my first Clarified Milk Punch to try this by gone method of preserving drinks and I am now smitten with making (and drinking!) them. You can clarify just about any cocktail that has an acidic component like citrus in it. So I figured why not try my hand at clarifying some other drinks. It may sound complicated, but it is an easy technique once you get a hang of it. And the best part: you can make big batches of clarified cocktails and they last for awhile- a batch of clarified punch can last forever in the fridge. A cocktail ready for happy hour in seconds. Just be warned, you won’t be able to stop taking clarified cocktails once you start!
Watch me make it here!
Fruit Pebbles Clarified Milk Punch
I used the “flavor notes” of the Fruity Pebbles for creating the cocktail. Citrus like lemon, lime and orange. Although I don’t get any pineapple flavor, I decided to add this in for a tropical twist. My last clarified cocktail also had pineapple and I love how the milk wash rounded it out in the finished cocktail. As for the base spirit, a citrus forward gin felt like a natural choice to pair with the Fruity Pebbles. A clarified cocktail with cereal milk adds some fun and whimsy to the advanced cocktail technique. I love a goof high brow, low brow moment (hello fried chicken and champagne!) This Fruity Pebbles Clarified Milk Punch is one of my favorite drinks I have ever made. There, I said it!
Get the recipe for the Clarified Pineapple Milk Punch
What’s in a Fruit Pebbles Milk Punch
Gin– a citrus forward gin, like Nikka Coffey Gin or St. George Botanivore, works best here
Strawberry– fresh mudded strawberries adds a nice pink hue, flavor and natural sweetness
Lemon & lime– this it key for not only flavor, but for acid to curdle the milk for clarification
Pineapple juice – blends a tropical flavor to the other fruits to really give it a fruity flavor like the cereal
Fruity Pebbles– we all need a little nostalgia and fun from time to time! Adding it to the milk will give it flavor and fun to garnish with the neon hued cereal.
milk– fruity pebbles infused milk along with citrus/acid is the key to clarifying the drink.
How To Clarify Cocktails
I wrote a whole post on the science behind clarified cocktails here. But essential what is happening is when the acid from the cocktail interacts with the milk, you need acid for it to work and to clarify, it curdles the milk. This separates it into curds and whey, like in cheese making. When filtered, the whey stays behind in the cocktail making it a creamy, rounded drink. The protein in the curds will clarify the drink, taking in the tannins, hard acid flavors, phenolic flavonoids, and color- the impurities if you will. You get a a silky cocktail in the end that is shelf stable, although I like to keep my in the fridge,
Don’t Rush It
The process takes time, but it’s worth it. Don’t rush it! Letting the cocktail to sit after adding the milk is imperative for the curds to form. Aim for any where from a few hours to over night if you can wait. The curds are what clarify the cocktail.
Straining takes some patience too. Large batches of clarified cocktails can take 1 hour+ to strain. This is mostly in active so just leave it and periodically check to pour more for filtering. You’ll have a delicious, ready to serve cocktail before you know it!
Fruity Pebbles Clarified Milk Punch
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 8 hours
- Yield: 8–10 1x
- Category: cocktails
Description
Ingredients
- 16 oz citrus forward gin
- 10 small strawberries, muddled
- 6 oz sugar by weight- about 170 grams or a bit over 3/4 cup
- 8 oz pineapple juice
- 4 oz lime juice
- 4 oz lemon juice
- 10 oz fruity pebbles cereal milk (recipe below in the notes)
- garnish: fruity pebbles, salt, orange peel, honey
Instructions
- Add sliced strawberries to a jar. Pour in lemon juice and lime juice. Muddle the berries.
- Fine strain into a larger the container you’ll be making the milk punch in.
- Add sugar pineapple juice, and gin to the strawberry and juice mixture. Stir to dissolve the sugar.
- Slowly pour the infused cereal milk into the container. Let set for a few hours in the fridge to let the milk do its thing (aka curdling). Do not stir.
- When the wheys have formed into a “web” in the container and settle closer to the bottom, it’s time to strain.
- Put a coffee filter or cheese cloth over a container with a funnel. I used a Chemex coffee maker for easy straning. Slowly strain into the filter.
- The whey pieces are what clarifies the cocktail as you strain so be sure not to disturb them in the strainer.
- It will take a bit to fully strain. Store in a mason jar or large sealed container for up to a few months.
To serve:
Pour fruity pebbles onto a plate Sprinkle 1 tsp of salt over the cereal and mix well. Swipe honey or lemon juice onto a rocks glass. rim the glass with the fruity pebbles.
Pour the clarified punch into a glass with a large cube, preferably clear ice to show off all your hard work clarifying. Express orange peel over the glass and drop in.
Fruit Pebbles Cereal Milk
- 12 oz milk
- 2/3 cup fruit pebbles cereal
Add milk and cereal into a jar and shake. Let infuse for 1-2 hours. Fine strain into a container. Store for up to 4 days in the fridge.
Notes
- Bottle Suggestions: Nikki Coffey Gin or St. George Botanivore Gin
- Curdled Milk- When adding the milk to the cocktail , the acidity/citrus will begin to curdle the milk. This is what you are looking for! It’s similar to cheese making where acid is added to serrate the curds and whey. They whey stays in the cocktail after straining, while the why is what helps clarify and make the drink clear and helps rounded out the flavors. You have to trust the process of it all
- You don’t have to rim the cocktail with the salted fruity pebbles for the cocktail, but it’s a whimsical garnish that takes the cocktail to the next level.
- use fresh lemon and lime juice. Canned pineapple juice is fine here.
- Can you use non-dairy milk- Yes! It’s definitely possible. But I haven’t tested too many besides homemade almond milk. So I’ll be doing some experimenting with other dairy substitutes and share the results soon.
9 Comments
For this recipe should it be fresh juices or would bottled work? Also would I be using a scale to measure out 4oz of sugar?
Always fresh juices when possible! They flavor is incomparable with fresh juice vs. bottled juice. I use a scale for measuring dry ingredients, so use this if you have one.
Bottled juice sometimes has stabilizers that prevent separation, which is counterproductive for clarification efforts. However, using Pectin XP Ultra at a 4% solution can help break out the hydrocolloids in pasteurized juice and make it usable again. Check ModernistPantry.com.
I always use fresh juice, but great point! thank you for sharing, I didn’t think of the stabilizers getting in the way of the process!
Made this recipe and it tastes more strawberry lemonade than Fruity Pebbles, which is a win, imo! Thank you for writing this. 😀