Share

cover art for The (Re)Missionary's Downfall

The Buildout

The (Re)Missionary's Downfall

Season 1, Ep. 175

Few tiki and tropical drinks are as light, herbal, and dangerously sessionable as the Missionary’s Downfall. Created by Don the Beachcomber in the 1930s, it’s one of the genre’s earlier recipes and one of the first cocktails to embrace the power of the blender. And it is the blender itself — and proper blending technique — that will primarily be in our crosshairs on today’s episode. Here to lead us on that exploration is returning guest, VinePair Next Wave Awards Bartender of the Year (2024), and Chief Cocktail Officer at Brooklyn's Sunken Harbor Club, Garret Richard. Listen on (or read below) to discover Garret's Missionary's Downfall recipe — and don't forget to like, review, and subscribe!



Garret Richard's Missionary's Downfall Recipe

 


Ingredients 



- 5 drops saline solution

- ½ ounce acid-adjusted pineapple juice* or lime juice

- ½ ounce rich honey syrup (about 3:1 by weight, Florida Orange Blossom or Acacia)

- ½ ounce peach liqueur, such as Giffard Crème de Pêche de Vigne (from freezer)

- ½ ounce RinQuinQuin Peach Aperitif (from freezer)

- 1 ounce white rum, such as Probitas or Havana 3-Year (from freezer)

- 60 grams chopped pineapple chunks (frozen for a day, then taken out of freezer to defrost, and strained)

- 12-13 fresh mint leaves

- 1 ½ cups (170 grams) crushed ice

- ¼ teaspoon Xantham gum

- Garnish: pineapple wedge and mint sprigs



Directions 



1. Add all ingredients sans ice to a blender and flash blend until fully incorporated (blend for as short a time as possible to achieve this).

2. Add ice and blend until chilled and fully incorporated (again, the shorter the better here).

3. Serve in a chilled Pearl Diver (or 10 ounce) glass with a spent lime in the bottom, and garnish with mint and pineapple wedge.


*Acid Adjusted Pineapple Juice Recipe



Ingredients 



- 3.2 grams citric acid

- 2.0 grams malic acid

- 100 milliliters fresh pineapple juice (strained)



📧 Get in touch: cocktailcollege@vinepair.com 

🏆 Garret's Next Wave Awards 2024 profile

📖 Techniques! Extracts and Essences With Garret Richard

🍍 Tropical Standard


🍸Follow us: 

- VinePair: https://www.instagram.com/vinepair/

- Tim: https://www.instagram.com/timmckirdy/ 

- Garret: https://www.instagram.com/garretjrichard/

- Sunken Harbor Club: https://www.instagram.com/sunkenharborclubnyc/

 

 

 

 

 

More episodes

View all episodes

  • 40. New York Distilling

    01:06:31||Season 1, Ep. 40
    New York Distilling Company was born out of New York’s cocktail renaissance. Founded by Allen Katz, an entrepreneur obsessed with cocktails and the bars creating them, the distillery was built as a brand for New York bartenders.Katz also turned New York Distilling into a destination for the liquid-curious, creating a hands-on experience in Williamsburg where both aficionados and novices could learn more about spirits and cocktails. Since its founding, the brand has become a mainstay behind bars across New York, but Katz always believed it could become something bigger. That ambition ultimately led him to sell the company this past year.Allen joins Adam on this episode of The Buildout to discuss founding one of New York State’s first distilleries after Prohibition, building the brand, and preparing it to go global.Follow us: https://www.instagram.com/buildoutpodcastNew York Distilling: https://www.instagram.com/nydistillingAllen Katz: https://www.instagram.com/nydistillerymanVinePair: https://www.instagram.com/vinepairHosted by VinePair Co-Founder: https://www.instagram.com/adamteeterProduced and edited by: https://www.instagram.com/dolldoctor
  • 39. Oriana

    53:27||Season 1, Ep. 39
    Opening a restaurant in New York is difficult, even when the people behind it come from one of the best restaurants in the world.When Cedric Nicaise and chef Andy Quinn set out to open The Noortwyck, they wanted to create a true West Village neighborhood restaurant—something very different from the three-Michelin-starred Eleven Madison Park, where they had both previously worked. But building the restaurant has not been easy, a reality Cedric is refreshingly candid about. Some days, he admits, it can still feel nearly impossible.At the same time, The Noortwyck created the opportunity for them to open Oriana, their more approachable take on fine dining, which is already attracting attention and acclaim.Cedric joins Adam on this episode of The Buildout to discuss learning from mistakes, the importance of service and hospitality, and what restaurant critics get right—and wrong—about the dining experience.Follow us: https://www.instagram.com/buildoutpodcastOriana: https://www.instagram.com/oriana.nycCedric Nicaise: https://www.instagram.com/cedlovesbaconVinePair: https://www.instagram.com/vinepairHosted by VinePair Co-Founder: https://www.instagram.com/adamteeterProduced and edited by: https://www.instagram.com/dolldoctor
  • 38. Handshake Speakeasy

    54:56||Season 1, Ep. 38
    Handshake Speakeasy seems to be everywhere these days, from starring in commercials for 1800 Tequila to being named the number one bar in the world. For anyone visiting Mexico City, missing the chance to have a drink at this acclaimed bar can inspire some serious FOMO.But its success was far from inevitable. It took years of starts, stops, and setbacks to finally get Handshake off the ground. Once it opened, however, the response was immediate. The bar offered something distinctly different from the cocktail destinations that had come before it in Mexico City, and its arrival helped further cement CDMX as one of the world’s most exciting drinking destinations.Co-owners Eric and Rodrigo join Adam on this episode of The Buildout to tell the story of how Handshake Speakeasy came to be.Follow us: https://www.instagram.com/buildoutpodcastHandshake Speakeasy: https://www.instagram.com/handshake_barEric van Beek: https://www.instagram.com/ericvanbeek.carinoRodrigo Urraca: https://www.instagram.com/rurracaVinePair: https://www.instagram.com/vinepairHosted by VinePair Co-Founder: https://www.instagram.com/adamteeterProduced and edited by: https://www.instagram.com/dolldoctor
  • 37. Claud

    01:00:25||Season 1, Ep. 37
    Chase Sinzer knew from an early age that he wanted to own a restaurant, pursuing that dream through high school and college before making his way to New York City to work for some of the best restaurateurs in the business. His first project, Claud, has been a breakout success, earning three stars from The New York Times, becoming one of the city’s hardest reservations to land, and establishing itself as one of the best places in New York to drink wine. But the thing that may have put Claud on the map in the first place wasn’t the service, the wine, or the entrées. It was a slice of chocolate cake. On this episode of The Buildout, Chase joins Adam to talk about building Claud, how to move from one success to the next, and why he offers finance classes to any member of his restaurant staff who wants to learn.Follow us: https://www.instagram.com/buildoutpodcastClaud: https://www.instagram.com/claud_nycVinePair: https://www.instagram.com/vinepairHosted by VinePair Co-Founder: https://www.instagram.com/adamteeterProduced and edited by: https://www.instagram.com/dolldoctor
  • 36. Allegory

    36:26||Season 1, Ep. 36
    Allegory DC was never supposed to become a 50 Best bar. But when Covid hit, the entire team left, and Deke Dunne found himself the last man standing. What followed was a complete transformation: a bar built around storytelling, creativity, and craft. On this episode of The Buildout, Deke joins Adam to talk about how that disruption gave him the chance to create the bar he had envisioned from the start, assemble one of D.C.’s most talented bar teams, and turn Allegory into a destination bar that helped raise the profile of the hotel it’s located in.Follow us: https://www.instagram.com/buildoutpodcastAllegory: https://www.instagram.com/allegory_dcDeke Dunne: https://www.instagram.com/deke_dcVinePair: https://www.instagram.com/vinepairHosted by VinePair Co-Founder: https://www.instagram.com/adamteeterProduced and edited by: https://www.instagram.com/dolldoctor
  • 35. Dante

    01:04:16||Season 1, Ep. 35
    For many, Dante is the bar that put New York’s modern cocktail scene back on the map. After rising to the top of the World’s 50 Best Bars list in just a few short years, it helped usher in a new era of cocktail culture in the city. But what exactly is Dante? A cocktail bar? A restaurant? Something in between? And how do you grow a brand nationally and internationally without losing the magic that made it special in the first place? On this episode of The Buildout, owner Linden Pride joins Adam to tell the story behind Dante, and how he and his wife and partner, Nathalie, have expanded it beyond anything they first imagined while preserving the spark that made it iconic.Follow us: https://www.instagram.com/buildoutpodcastDante: https://www.instagram.com/dantenewyorkcityLinden Pride: https://www.instagram.com/lindenprideVinePair: https://www.instagram.com/vinepairHosted by VinePair Co-Founder: https://www.instagram.com/adamteeterProduced and edited by: https://www.instagram.com/dolldoctor
  • 34. Echo Lake

    59:13||Season 1, Ep. 34
    What happens when a celebrated cocktail journalist and one of the country’s foremost rum authorities join forces? The result is Echo Lake. But opening the bar proved more challenging than either expected. Chloe Frechette had spent her career covering bars, not opening them, while Paul McGee had built his reputation in Chicago, not New York. On this episode of The Buildout, Chloe and Paul join Adam to talk about the challenges they faced, the lessons they learned, and how they created one of the most exciting new additions to the cocktail and rum scenes.Follow us: https://www.instagram.com/buildoutpodcastEcho Lake: https://www.instagram.com/echolakebarChloe Frechette: https://www.instagram.com/chloefrechettePaul McGee: https://www.instagram.com/bagchatterVinePair: https://www.instagram.com/vinepairHosted by VinePair Co-Founder: https://www.instagram.com/adamteeterProduced and edited by: https://www.instagram.com/dolldoctor
  • 33. Nine Bar

    53:49||Season 1, Ep. 33
    Taking over a decades-old family restaurant is daunting enough. Turning it into a cocktail bar in Chicago’s Chinatown — a neighborhood without a high-end cocktail destination — raises the stakes even more. But partners Lily Wang and Joe Briglio embraced the challenge, bringing Lily’s family along for the ride. The result is Nine Bar, one of the most exciting new additions to Chicago’s cocktail scene, drawing drinkers to a neighborhood many had never considered for cocktails. On this episode of The Buildout, Lily and Joe join Adam to share how it came together, from navigating family dynamics to honoring the culture of the neighborhood.Follow us: https://www.instagram.com/buildoutpodcastNine Bar: https://www.instagram.com/ninebarchicagoLily Wang: https://www.instagram.com/lw4ngJoe Briglio: https://www.instagram.com/joebrigsVinePair: https://www.instagram.com/vinepairHosted by VinePair Co-Founder: https://www.instagram.com/adamteeterProduced and edited by: https://www.instagram.com/dolldoctor
  • 32. The Keefer Bar

    49:22||Season 1, Ep. 32
    Opened in 2009, The Keefer Bar quickly became one of Vancouver’s essential cocktail destinations. But what happens when a beloved local institution suddenly finds itself on the national—and international—stage? In 2026, Keefer was named Best Bar in Canada, and a new wave of attention followed. On this episode of The Buildout, we tell the story of The Keefer Bar: how it helped shape Vancouver’s cocktail culture, influenced Canada’s bar scene at large, and is now navigating what comes next after reaching the top.Follow us: https://www.instagram.com/buildoutpodcastThe Keefer Bar: https://www.instagram.com/thekeeferbarKeenan Hood: https://www.instagram.com/keenanhoodAmber Bruce: https://www.instagram.com/amberbruceVinePair: https://www.instagram.com/vinepairHosted by VinePair Co-Founder: https://www.instagram.com/adamteeterProduced and edited by: https://www.instagram.com/dolldoctor