Island Sunset Recipe

Combine and blend

Place the hulled strawberries and diced mango in a blender. Add the fresh lime juice and simple syrup. Blend on high until smooth, about 20–30 seconds, stopping to scrape down the sides once if needed. The puree should be thick but pourable.

If the puree is too thick to pour easily, add 1 tablespoon (15 ml) cold water or orange juice and pulse once or twice to adjust consistency.

Prepare glass

Fill a tall glass (12–16 oz) with ice to chill it while you work.

Combine rum and juices

In a cocktail shaker or mixing glass, pour the white rum and chilled orange juice. Add 2–3 large ice cubes, cap the shaker and shake briefly (6–8 seconds) just to chill and lightly dilute.

Discard the ice from the chilled serving glass and add fresh ice if desired (about 3/4 cup).

Layer the drink

Pour half of the fruit puree into the bottom of the serving glass. Strain the shaken rum-orange mixture over the puree slowly so it layers with the fruit.

Pour the remaining fruit puree on top gently to create a swirled, sunset look. Finish by slowly drizzling the grenadine down the side of the glass or over the back of a spoon so it sinks and creates a gradient from red at the bottom to golden at the top.

Garnish the rim with a mango slice and a halved strawberry. Add a mint sprig if using. Serve with a straw and a cocktail spoon so the drink can be stirred to combine flavors before sipping.

Optional: for a frozen variation, blend the fruit puree with the rum, orange juice and 1 cup of ice until slushy, then drizzle grenadine into the glass and garnish as above.