Tropical Fruit Rambutan Cocktail

5 from 7 votes

Delicately sweet, sour and slightly floral Tropical Fruit Rambutan Cocktail is perfect for summer sipping and we have an easy mocktail recipe for the kids.

Prep Time10

Cook Time0

Total Time10

Course: Beverages

Cuisine: American, Vietnamese

Servings:

Calories: 166kcal

Author: HWC Magazine

Equipment

cocktail shaker
Blender or food processor

Ingredients

Tropical Fruit Rambutan Cocktail

7 oz rambutan fruit peeled and pit removed. Can use either fresh or canned rambutan.(or about 12 rambutan)
3 oz vodka or to taste (approximately 1.5 oz, 1 shot or 1 jigger per serving)
sparkling water or seltzer water, just a splash to fill the glass. (approximately 2 oz per glass) or to personal preference.
lemon juice optional - just a spritz in each glass
canned rambutan juice or simple syrup optional - if you like your cocktail extra sweet

Tropical Fruit Rambutan Mocktail

10 oz rambutan fruit peeled and pit removed. Can use either fresh or canned rambutan. (or about 16 rambutan)
4-6 oz sparkling water or seltzer water, just a splash to fill the glass. (approximately 3 oz per glass) or to personal preference.
lemon juice optional - just a spritz in each glass
canned rambutan juice or simple syrup optional - if you like your cocktail extra sweet

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Place your cocktail or mocktail glasses in the freezer to chill. If you don’t have a freezer, put ice and water in the glass and it will chill it right down. Empty the glass of iced water.
In a blender add peeled and pitted rambutan and blend until smooth.
In a cocktail shaker add vodka (hold for the kiddy mocktail), ice and mashed rambutan fruit. If desired, you can add either simple syrup or juice from canned rambutans to sweeten. Add a spritz of lemon, if desired. Shake well.
Strain Tropical Fruit Rambutan cocktail through the strainer and into your chilled glass. Top with a little sparkling water and give it a little stir. Garnish with a fresh rambutan, if desired.
Enjoy!

Notes

Please note the caloric count is using fresh rambutans, not canned.

You can use either fresh or canned rambutans for this recipe. If you can’t find rambutans, you can exchange with fresh or canned lychee or longans.

Do you like your drinks dry or sweet? The best part about this cocktail you can make it either way by balancing the ingredients to your desired effect.

If you like your cocktails only delicately sweet, do not add any simple syrup. The natural sweetness of the FRESH rambutans are perfect as they are a little sweet and slightly sour.
On the other hand, if you want your beverage sourer, add a little spritz of fresh lemon juice to taste.
Like your drinks sweet?

Option 1: Use CANNED rambutans in syrup instead of fresh. Add a little of the canned syrup to your desired sweetness.

Option 2: Make yourself a little simple syrup. Add equal amounts of sugar (or sugar alternative of choice) and water to a pot and slowly heat until all the sugar (or sugar alternative of choice) is melted and incorporated. Add a little cooled simple syrup to taste to your drink.

How to pick a Fresh Ripe Rambutan?

In the perfect world, you want your rambutan to be bright red with nice green hairs protruding for the perfect ripe rambutan.
They should smell sweet and never sour.
Just like in our post How to Cut a Pineapple, rambutan fruits do not ripen after harvest. So, pick a good batch to start with.
If you see dark brown rambutan with dark brittle hairs that are all falling off, these are overly ripe. Can you still eat these? Yes, you can. However, when they get overly ripe, they form excess sugars. These excess sugars can ferment into alcohol.

Where can you buy rambutans?

You can purchase these fresh tropical fruits from Asian Markets and even on Amazon from the fresh market. Lucky you, if you live in Hawaii, as you can find them at the local markets. Alternatively, you can also buy Rambutan fruit canned. Aroy-D has rambutan in syrup in 20 oz (565 g) cans. The canned version you can find at Asian markets and online as well. If you like your cocktails sweeter, you may prefer the canned option as you can use the syrup that the fruit came in to sweeten your drink. In addition, the canned ones already have the pit removed.

How to Store Rambutans?

Rambutan are always best eaten fresh. They can be stored at room temperature only for a day or 2 at most. Then, they must be stored in the refrigerator in a bag with perforated holes so that it can breathe. You can also peel, pit and store them in a freezer safe container in the freezer as they make fantastic Red White and Blue Healthy Sorbets for up to 2 months.

Nutrition