So, a bartender buddy of mine was trying to come up with a new drink and after a lot of thought he figured that the world needed what he would call the Ebolatini. Now, where do you start with something this massive? What is your base gonna be? Well, after much thought he decided that gin would be the best foundation to build his masterpiece. Problem is, what type? Something complex? Straightforward? The way he puts it, 'I had three choices in front of me, Tanqueray, Beefeater and Bombay Sapphire. I went with the Sapphire because the light blue bottle reminded me of the cold and sterile feeling that you get when you're in the hospital. Almost a no-brainer.'
Ok, now what are you to put into that to maintain the 'hospital' feel that you're going for? 'Once again, I looked at what was in front of me and I saw a lime. Ok, I thought, this is good, but I need a crown jewel for this to be a really special cocktail. What is the garnish gonna be? I headed down the block to a candy store to find licorice rope. Can you believe that a candy store in NYC doesn't have licorice? So, that's it. I'm back at square one. No drink. I head back to work and a buddy has shown up with a bag of watermelon twizzlers. No joke, he's sitting at the bar with a giant bag of licorice. Is this a stroke of luck or what? Here's the problem. They're huge. Way too big to slap into a martini glass. So, once again I'm thinking that this isn't going to happen. That is until I see the hostess with a piece of it and she's tearing it apart like it's string cheese. Genius!! I grab a chunk of it and do the same and there you have it, the Ebolatini.'