El Brigadiero
In a one week design Charette, my team designed a mocktail in inspired by Brazilian culture. We called it El Brigadiero, named after the traditional Brazilian sweet. We presented it to a panel of judges from Priority Designs, a Columbus based firm and won several awards at the end of the night.
DESIGN CONSTRAINTS
Must be inspired by a specific culture such as Brazil, must use a specific glass provided by Libby glassware, incorporate an “animal” into our mocktail, and provide fully viable/replicable recipe. Also, we needed to consider presentation and experience when serving the mocktail.
A tasty mocktail to present to a panel of judges and a replicable recipe.
FINAL DELIVERABLES
TIME FRAME
1 week
INITIAL RESEARCH
None of us had any experience with mixology, so we started by understanding the main seven cocktails, their origins, and their main bases. We also did research about the glass we were assigned, the martini glass.
We also researched the different types of “animal” we could incorporate into our drink. For example, could we use it as an ingredient, incorporate it into our experience of the drink, or use it as a symbol in some way?
After some initial research, we did some preliminary sketches of what the mocktail could look like. However, we realized that the only way we could really get started is if we started experimenting with ingredients.
Researching the seven main cocktail recipes
Brainstorming different parts of the mocktail creation including the drinking experience, uses for an “animal”, the Martini glass, and the cultural mixer.
Preliminary sketches of what the drink could look like. It was only until we started prototyping with flavors did I start to understand the art of mixology,
FLAVOR EXPERIMENTATION
We headed to a Brazilian restaurant and grocery store to start investigating ingredients. We bought several different candies and tried a brigedeiro cake.
One significant thing we noticed is that Brazilian cuisine was very focused on texture. The cake was a combination of pudding and some sort of crunch. We decided to move forward with Brazil as our cultural mixer and bought ingredients that we thought would work well in a drink such as Brazilian soda-Guarana, coconut milk, yogurt, and some other main ingredients. We chose to use yogurt as our “animal” incorporation.
A brigadiero cake. I really liked the combination of different textures particularly the pudding, cake, and the crunch of the sprinkles.
Coconut is a common flavor in Brazilian cuisine.
A peanut brittle. It was sweet but it had a great crunch.
Sprinkles are commonly used for brigadieros.
FLAVOR PROTOTYPING
Below are all the different combinations that we experimented with. I found it really interesting between the differences of shaking, stirring, and blending the drinks.
We also found the order in which we added the ingredients to be vital to the creation of the drink. The final drink incorporated three separate steps: first heating up the coconut cream with water, then blending it with yogurt and cocoa powder, and lastly lightly stirring the concoction with soda. We found that we didn’t want to work the soda too much or else it would get rid of the fizz.
Final mocktail concoction after all of our experimentation and mess. 
Experimenting with order and preparation of ingredients and measurements.
Testing different brigadeiro flavors. We experimented with sprinkles as a topping and using Urucum powder, a traditional Brazilian spice.
INGREDIENTS
2 oz coconut cream
3 oz Cocada Cremosa
1 oz low fat Greek yogurt
¾ tsp Dutch processed cocoa powder
400 ml ice
1 oz unsweetened coconut shavings
3 oz Guarana Antarctica Soda
¼ tsp Urucum powder
1 pinch of urucum powder to top
1 pinch of Dutch cocoa powder to top
1 pinch of chocolate sprinkles to top
1 chocolate Brigadeiro
INSTRUCTIONS
Heat up 2 oz coconut cream and 3 oz Cocada Cremosa until smooth.
In blender: add 400 ml ice, coconut mixture, 1 oz low fat Greek yogurt, ¾ tsp Dutch processed cocoa powder, and 1 oz unsweetened coconut shavings. Blend until smooth— about fifteen pulses and then hold on pulse for five seconds.
Add 3 oz of Guarana Antarctica soda and ¼ tsp urucum powder into mixture. Mix lightly as to preserve carbonation.
To prepare glass, rim with the Guarana Antarctica Soda. Take your finger and brush the rim with cocoa powder and urucum powder. We only want a hint of these two flavors on the edge.
Pour drink into glass.
Top with a pinch of cocoa powder, urucum powder, and chocolate sprinkles.
Lastly, partially slice Brigadeiro and sit the treat on the rim of the glass.
Enjoy.
FINAL THOUGHTS AND PRESENTATION
This was a very fun week of experimenting with a different kind of material: food and drink. As an avid cook, this was an insight into the world of drink making, which is very different. We did a ton of prototyping and with each prototype I started to notice the nuances of the different flavors and the differences between front, mid, and back palates. Additionally, I never realized how much work goes into making a drink from the flavors, smells, presentation, and overall drinking experience. Overall, this was an incredible experience.
For our final presentation we had to make 1 serving of the mocktail for jury review (making use of the Libbey glass) and a pitcher of the mocktail for public tasting (you will be provided a 64 oz. pitcher and about 50 1 oz. shot cups). Additionally, we made fifty brigadieros to accompany the drinks.
Final presentation of our mocktail.
One of my partners made over fifty brigadieros to present to the judges.
Our drink won three judges awards: two judges choice awards and a "Let's make it Irish"
Mixing the drink in front of the panel of judges.
Contact me.
z.shaytannas@gmail.com
(617) 477-7602
Dallas | TX