The Don Pedro Cocktail

It was a special treat to go out for dinner as a student. If you still had enough money left over at the end of the meal, the dessert choice was always a Don Pedro. I assumed that Don Pedro is a standard dessert throughout the world. It is only when I started travelling abroad that I realized, it is not known outside of our beautiful country.

Asking for a Don Pedro in Amsterdam was met with much bewilderment. I tried again in Paris in broken French and sign language, and my request was met with frowns and growls. I did not even try when I arrived in Moscow. To me, whisky and ice cream was a natural fit. For the rest of the world, apparently no quite.<

For my non-South African readers, a Don Pedro is not something your uncle Pedro is famous for. It is an adult milkshake. Vanilla milkshake with a tot (or 2) of whisky or liqueur.

Like milkshake, you sip it with a straw. I am not sure if it is more a cocktail or a dessert, but I know one thing; it is tasty!

What is a Don Pedro?

According to Eat Out, the first Don Pedro was made by Danny Ferris at Belinzona in Blouberg, Cape Town in the 1970s. The basic ingredients are always some vanilla ice cream, cream or milk and some liqueur. Many restaurants have their own version of the classic and name them based on the liqueur used.

A popular option is to use Amarula cream liqueur (a very popular South African marula fruit flavoured liqueur) or Frangelico or even a Bailey’s Irish cream.

At a fancy restaurant, you might not find it on the menu, but a good South African barman should have no trouble in whipping you up a tasty Don Pedro without looking for his cocktail book.

In honour of this truly South African dessert, here is a simple recipe for Don Pedro. Keeping with the South African theme, I made it with some Three Ships Premium Select 5 yo. I specially chose this peaty expression as the peat adds a different dimension to the Classic Don Pedro.

Because this whisky is made by the well-known Master Distiller Andy Watts, I have dubbed my expression, Don Andy. He released the Three Ships Pinotage Cask Finish whisky and has become a South African whisky legend over the last couple of years

Don Andy with Three Ships 5 year old whisky

Ingredients

Serves 2

• 6 scoops of vanilla ice crea
• 60 ml peated whisky (I used the Three Ships 5 year old whisky)
• 50 ml cream or milk
• grated dark chocolate
• 2 cherries

Method

• Pour the first 3 ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.  Or use a stick blender and wiz away.
• Pour the mixture into 2 glasses.
• Top with a cherry and grated dark chocolate.
• Serve immediately and enjoy.

Note: You can replace the Three Ships 5 year old with any whisky (or liqueur for that matter) of your choice. A peated whisky adds an interesting dimension to the drink; I recommend that you try it. It is delicious.

Also Read: Bourbon and Coffee