John Wentworth with the Hobsen Jobsen.
Flora
45 Raymond Road
West Hartford, CT
Located in West Hartford’s Blueback Square, Flora brings plant-based cuisine to vegans and omnivores alike. Menu options are geared toward vegan clientele, with ethically raised meat options for omnivores. Cocktails have a similarly health-conscious focus, many emphasizing spirits made with organic ingredients and also using fresh fruit and vegetable juices made in house. Bar Manager John Wentworth created the colorful cocktail for Flora’s new spring and summer menu based on his exploration into the phrase Hobsen Jobsen. “Hobsen Jobsen is an Anglo-Indian corruption of the Muslim festival cry, ‘ya hasan ya hasan,’” he explained. “Ya hasan ya hasan basically means punch, as in a five-ingredient drink.”
Bar Manager: John Wentworth
Cocktail: Hobsen Jobsen
Ingredients:
• 1 oz. John D. Taylor’s Velvet Falernum Liqueur
• 1 oz. Flora Liqueur
• 1 oz. Greenbar Distillery Fruitlab Orange Liqueur
• 1 oz. Stolen Smoked Rum
• 3 oz. Flora’s fresh yellow juice blend: pineapple, bell pepper and lemon
Method: Combine all ingredients in a shaker over ice. Add to tiki mug filled with more ice. Garnish with palm leaf and dehydrated orange slice.
The Hobsen Jobsen cocktail, created by Wentworth, uses Flora’s fresh yellow juice blend, an emulsion of pineapple, bell pepper and lemon, whipped together with smoked rum and fruit liqueurs and served in a tiki mug. “The smoked product is sort of new to me and I appreciate the smokiness in drinks, but forcing mezcal into everything … I’m making more delicate drinks here for our clientele, so mezcal feels a little heavy-handed, where the smoke here is a little more subtle.”
