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The Pink Squirrel is a pretty and pink retro cocktail that is sweet, creamy and tastes like almond and cocoa. Served chilled and garnished with a sprinkle of freshly grated nutmeg, it’s a great after dinner drink recipe that’s been a staple in the Midwest for decades!
Three ingredients and a cocktail shaker (or mason jar) are all you need to transport yourself to the finest supper club and make this bright pink and velvety smooth cocktail.
Ingredients for this recipe
If you love a Wisconsin cocktail as much as I do be sure to check out my Brandy Old Fashioned, Grasshopper Cocktail, and Brandy Slush recipes!
Pink Squirrel Cocktail Recipe
This is just a brief overview, find detailed instructions in the recipe card below!
Crème de Noyaux substitute
Crème de Noyaux is a liqueur made from the pits of apricots, peaches, and/or cherries. It has a beautiful and bright pink color and tastes like almond, even though there are no almonds in it.
It tastes like almonds because apricots, peaches, cherries, and other stone fruits are in the same family as almonds. Noyaux actually roughly translates to “stones” from French. Like stone fruit!
That’s why if you’ve ever opened a peach pit, you may have found what appeared to be an almond inside. They’re related!
If you cannot find Crème de Noyaux at your local grocery or liquor store, you can substitute amaretto which is another almond-flavor liqueur (though it also doesn’t contain almonds!).
If using amaretto you may want to add a drop or two of red food coloring to the cocktail shaker, as amaretto is not bright pink like the crème de noyaux.
White vs Regular Crème de Cacao
If you can’t find white crème de cacao you can easily substitute regular crème de cacao. The drink may just not be as bright and vibrant, but it will be just as delicious!
In fact, in my grasshopper cocktail and my no-churn grasshopper ice cream, I use regular crème de cacao and don’t notice an effect on the bright green hue of the crème de menthe.
Making a cocktail in a mason jar
Not everyone has a cocktail shaker. Or, the shaker might leak, or break, or any number of things. So, what’s the fix?
Use a mason jar and a leakproof lid as a makeshift cocktail shaker! We have a store of mason jars from all the canning we do and leakproof lids can be found on Amazon or at stores like Target.
Voila. A homemade cocktail shaker for your homemade cocktail recipes!
Converting ounces to tablespoons
Not everyone has a cocktail jigger (that’s the fancy double-ended metal contraption bartenders use to measure out ingredients), but that shouldn’t stop you from enjoying great supper club-quality cocktails at home.
Here’s a very easy conversion to remember when it comes to making cocktails at home: 1 fluid ounce = 2 tablespoons
So, for this recipe that conversion looks like 3 tablespoons crème de noyaux, 3 tablespoons white crème de cacao, and 4 tablespoons (which is ¼ cup!) heavy cream.
Try adding ice cream
Much like a grasshopper cocktail or the Brandy Alexander, the original purpose of the pink squirrel was to be a digestif, something enjoyed after a meal.
Of course, in Wisconsin we took “digestif” to mean “dessert” and turned this simple cocktail into a boozy milkshake when we created the Pink Squirrel with Ice Cream that can be found on the menus of most supper clubs here!
Watch the recipe video!
Pink Squirrel Cocktail (Supper Club Classic)
Equipment
- Cocktail shaker, optional
- Cocktail jigger, optional
Ingredients
- 1 ½ ounces crème de noyaux
- 1 ½ ounces white crème de cacao
- 2 ounces heavy cream
- Nutmeg, for garnish
Instructions
- In a cocktail shaker or mason jar filled with ice combine 1 ½ ounces crème de noyaux, 1 ½ ounces white crème de cacao, and 2 ounces heavy cream.
- Place the lid on the shaker and shake vigorously for 20 second, or until shaker frosts over.
- Strain cocktail in a coupe or martini glass and garnish with a grating of fresh nutmeg to serve.
- Enjoy immediately.
Video
Notes
- Makes one drink, easily multiplied.
Nutrition
Angie says
I'm going to make Trevor make me one!!!!! xo
Amanda Gajdosik says
A brilliant plan, Angie! I hope you love it!
The reviewer has a personal relationship with the author of this post, all opinions are their own.