This delicious, fruity drink is a mixture of traditional Croatian ingredients.
While travelling the world and exploring how world-famous cocktails came to be, bartender and mixologist Marin Nekić found out the secret behind the popularity of mojitos, caipirinhas and Cuba Libre. What they have in common is the fact that they bring out the best of what their home countries have to offer, using local ingredients characteristic for the region. Guided by that idea, he tried to do the same for Croatia and make a cocktail that would evoke a taste of our country with every sip. The final product is Crocktail, Croatia’s first national cocktail!
Cherry on top
Making the cocktail is fairly simple since the tricky part is having the right ingredients. The key element is Maraschino, a liqueur obtained from the distillation of Marasca cherries which grow wild along parts of the Dalmatian coast. Begin with a glass full of crushed ice, add 50 ml of Maraschino from Zadar, add 30 ml of fresh lemon juice and 30 ml of sour cherry juice (preferably from Marasca cherries). Grate a bit of orange zest, add arancini and top it off with a cherry. Don’t mistake arancini for Italian rice balls of the same name; arancini is candied orange peel, a delicacy from the coastal region of Croatia.
Change of seasons
There’s a fun twist: the creator, Marin Nekić, envisioned the drink as a concoction of tastes from all over Croatia, not just the coast. That’s why there is a different version of the cocktail for every season. Try adding fresh tangerine juice in autumn; in winter dried figs, and in spring add basil and half a teaspoon of powdered hot pepper from Slavonia.
If you’re wondering where to try this delicious drink, we suggest you do so in our cocktail bar Suncokret, where they mix the drink as taught by Nekić himself.