The Best Thing We Drank This Week: Chinola Passion Fruit Liqueur

This week at Bar Convent—the bar and spirits conference that began in Berlin and debuted this year in Brooklyn, New York—we had the privilege of trying a new passion fruit liqueur: Chinola. Made with fresh passion fruit juice (they use 100 percent non-GMO passion fruit grown in the town of Majagual in the Dominican Republic), cane sugar and neutral cane sugar spirit, the cordial is neon yellow, subtly sweet, lip-smackingly sour and incredibly versatile behind the bar. It was so delicious, we’ve been thinking about it ever since we tried it.

Chinola can be sipped straight or over ice, and tastes wonderful when mixed in a number of refreshing cocktails. You can use it in a Highball with straight seltzer or sparkling wine, or add it to an Aperol Spritz (it is phenomenal paired with Aperol’s orange notes). It also works wonderfully in tropical or tiki cocktails that call for a passion fruit syrup like a Hurricane. It’s drier, boozier, livelier and fresher tasting than any other passion fruit syrups or liqueurs currently on the market. There’s only one problem with Chinola: It might not be available in your state.

Currently, it’s being used at some of the best cocktail bars in New York and Miami, including the Broken Shaker, Soho Beach House and Fontainebleau. It’s also available online for $33, so if your state allows alcohol shipments, you’re in business. But don’t feel left out if you can’t get your hands on a bottle right now because it should be available in other parts of the country soon. When you do spot Chinola’s gorgeous label and vibrant yellow liquid beaming from inside the bottle on your local liquor store shelf, buy it right away.