Meet Chris Parish, our mixologist friend from Hawaii, and find out how he makes his favorite recipe “I’m Your Density”

Name:
Chris Parish

Location:
Born and raised in California, moved to Salt Lake City, UT after high school and lived there until 2017. We now live on the southeast corner of the Big Island of Hawaii.

Go-To Cocktail:
Mai Tai

Instagram:
@thejoyofdrinking

Tell us a little bit about yourself. How did you first get into mixology? Who/what/where taught you what you know?

I’m at software developer by trade, so no big background in bartending or the service industry. I started making cocktails at home because I have never really liked beer or wine. When I realized that there was a huge world out there of amazing cocktails, I started building a liquor collection at home and making drinks. I was always the friend that “made the drinks” when people came over or I went to their house.  I only knew a handful or recipes, but it doesn’t take much to impress most people. I never got into making anything too difficult or fancy garnishes until I started my Instagram account last year. Since then I have tried to push myself to learn and experiment with new things as much as possible.

What is one cool thing you’ve learned that you can teach our community?

I think one thing that I am somewhat known for is layering a cocktail.  I don’t claim to be any kind of genius in this area, but I have always been a student of science and enjoy playing with density.  Many people struggle with layering their drinks, but most of it is because they are choosing more dense ingredients to try and put on top of less dense ones.  For instance, a juice is much denser than a spirit, so you’ll never really get it to float on top.  However, if you swap them around, you almost can’t go wrong!  One trick I like to do is get out a shot or cordial glass and practice slowly pouring in some ingredients to see how they play out.  I’ll do this a few times to see the correct order or to swap ingredients.  This technique then allows me to create the full-size cocktail with beautiful layers (that I didn’t really have to work that hard to create).

Where do you draw inspiration from?

I draw most of my inspiration from others in the #drinkstagram community and the rest from the whims in my own head.  I love to see something cool on someone’s feed and go make it that minute.  Often times I will see a cocktail in the evening and send that person back a DM with my version of their cocktail that I made.  It’s almost like we got to have a drink together. I also like to think of themes that I can based a whole series of drinks on.  This may be a color, ingredient, style, or even a movie/song.  I run these “theme” weeks quite often and they help me focus on making something specific and not get overwhelmed with trying to come up with a new idea. 

What is one recipe that you created on your own that you’re really proud of?

One of my favorite drinks is the “I’m Your Density” cocktail that combines some beautiful layering, science, and Back To The Future!

I’m Your Density Cocktail Recipe

I’m Your Density


Ingredients:

  • .5oz / 15ml melon liqueur @dekuypercocktails
  • .5oz / 15ml mango nectar
  • .5oz / 15ml pineapple juice
  • .5oz / 15ml grapefruit juice
  • .5oz / 15ml lime juice
  • .5oz / 15ml orgeat syrup @tradervicsworldwide
  • .5oz / 15ml passionfruit liqueur @passoa
  • .5oz / 15ml blue curacao @dekuypercocktails
  • .5oz / 15ml coconut vodka @islanddistillers
  • .5oz / 15ml Machuca spiced rum @machucaworld
  • .5oz / 15ml butterfly pea flower infused gin

Preparation:
Fill glass with ice to the top and add ingredients in order from list. I recommend pouring each one slowly over ice at the top to ensure layers stay apart. Garnish with fruit wedge (mine is candy). Serve with a glass straw.