I’ve been lucky enough over the years to sample spirits and cocktails from all over the globe in watering holes ranging from cockeyed lean-tos of coconut and palm to august Michelin-starred grand rooms of historic provenance. Inspired by these meanderings, I pride myself on mixing up unusual, interesting and unique recipes for both myself and our guests at the Projectionists’ Club garden. One of the few downsides to this good fortune is that there is a lingering misconception that I am a ‘cocktail snob.’

Au contraire. It is my philosophy that if you are in the service industry, it is your duty to make your guests feel special when they have made the decision to patronize your establishment. While I will often try and introduce visitors to new ingredients and cocktails they may not have previously experienced, that is a secondary goal compared to making them feel welcomed and important. If I have the ingredients and can make your drink or your style of drink, I will without question, and I want to make it for you as well as I can.

This applies to all of our guests, but I would be lying if I said we didn’t try going the extra mile for our regulars. Kate has been a regular for a number of years and she has a sweet tooth. My preferred cocktail taste profile is more citrus-y and bitter-y. I don’t really do sweet so much. For some time, I kind of felt like I was letting Kate down with my selection of ‘ephemeral’ cocktails at the bar, so last year I just decided to make Kate her own drink that I thought would appeal to her taste profile.

I’m not a huge candy person, but when I was living in Australia, I adored the Cherry Ripe. It was invented there by the MacRobertson’s Steam Confectionery Works in 1924. It is a bar containing a mix of cherries and coconut, coated in dark chocolate. MacRobertson’s was sold to Cadbury in 1967 and the candy bar continues to be one of the top sellers in Australia. (They can be had in the US from a number of online retailers like The Australian Food Shop) I felt like I could get behind trying to replicate a liquid version of this wonderful treat for Kate and so I did.

I tinkered a little bit with the formula for Kate’s Cherry Ripe, but ultimately settled on equal parts of Malibu, cherry brandy liqueur and crème de cacao. While it started out and can be consumed as a short drink, I find the sugars in the liqueurs make the combination a bit syrupy, so I added Saranac’s Black Cherry Cream soda from our snack bar. This long version is much more to my liking and, more importantly, to Kate’s liking. The recipe:

• 30ml Malibu
• 30ml cherry brandy liqueur
• 30ml crème de cacao

Shake with ice and strain. Top with 120-150ml of black cherry soda. Give the whole thing a quick mix with a cocktail spoon. If you’re going to garnish it, use one of the ‘fake’ maraschino cherries. Save the Luxardo maraschinos for your Manhattan.

As it turns out, it’s not just Kate who seem to love this drink. I started putting it into the general rotation in the Projectionists Club this year and was surprised to see how popular it became. For this reason, you’ll see it again next year for 65th season at the Greenville Drive-in. Until then, feel free to give a whirl yourself.

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