![]() Fill the bottle with 1 part light or dark aged Dominican rum (I favor Brugal Añejo dark rum, but a lesser aged rum will result in a sweeter mamajuana with less complexity), 1 part red wine (I like Malbec), and 4 Tbsp. (The traditional recipe calls for curing the bark and herbs in wine first to get rid of the bitterness, but you can skip that step here). Here’s how I make it:Īdd 5 whole anise stars, 5 allspice berries, 8 hibiscus petals, 5 cinnamon sticks, 6 dried basil leaves, 5 whole cloves, 2 tablespoons chicory root, 4 eucalyptus leaves, and a 2" piece of ginger root (cut so it fits through the mouth of the bottle) to a large glass jug or empty 750-ml liquor bottle. ![]() After a few undrinkable batches, some trial and error, and endless phone calls to my relatives, I perfected my version. When I can’t travel to get the ingredients locally-or don’t feel like risking a run-in with law enforcement-I make my own using ingredients I can find Stateside. It can go down smooth like a sip of wine or leave your tastebuds with a potent reminder, like a shot of absinthe. Depending on the mix and how long you let it sit, the taste can range from piney and woody to spicy and sweet, with hints of earthy cinnamon or licorice-like anise. The traditional formula varies from family to family, and even among family members, so recipes serve more as guidelines than directions. It’s not alcohol it’s mamajuana,” my aunts would tell my parents. My family rarely left me out of the action because tradition took precedence over underage drinking rules. It turned domino tables into stages, my cousins into professional merengue dancers, and made an excellent chaser for my favorite uncle’s stories. I recall conversations and parties quickly forming whenever there was a bottle around. My memories of strange brown stuff in clear bottles go back as far as I can remember. It’s an excellent post-dinner digestif, nightcap, or last-minute hosting cocktail (when that becomes a thing again)-and it’s the only thing that gets me through New York’s cold, harsh winters. ![]() As long as it’s stuffed in a jug and steeped in aged rum, sweet red wine, and honey for at least a few days or up to several months, the results will resemble the amber-colored, dessert-rum-flavor of the local recipe. Sure, you can purchase packaged mixes of the ingredients on Amazon and Etsy, but since I can’t vouch for their quality or authenticity, I use my own mix of star anise, hibiscus petals, allspice, cinnamon sticks, dried basil leaves, whole cloves, chicory root, eucalyptus, and ginger to approximate the flavors. Often referred to as Dominican Sangria, mamajuana is an infused and aged DIY cocktail made with tropical bark and herbs-bohuco pega palo, alo de Brasil, and uña de gato, to name a few. ![]() I’ve learned that influencing an airport official at Punta Cana International is usually easier than finding the traditional ingredients for mamajuana in the U.S. He grabbed the money and sent me on my way. He continued to inspect my bag and spotted the 300 Dominican pesos (about $5) I had placed next to the container, anticipating this scenario. The airport officer opened my luggage and told me it couldn’t go, pointing to the glass jug full of roots and herbs. ![]()
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