Banana Bread: tiny cocktail Bananarac riff

Banana Bread: A Tiny Twist on the Bananarac

Name: Banana Bread: A Tiny Twist on the Bananarac
Yield: 10
Cuisine: American

RECIPE: Reprinted with permission from Tiny Cocktails. Copyright © 2025 by Tyler Zielinski. Photographs copyright © 2025 by Eric Medsker.
Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Crown Publishing Group.

Photo: Eric Medsker

February 07, 2025

This tiny tipple is a perfect late-night treat.

Drinks writer Tyler Zielinski shares a fun alternative to the low-proof cocktail trend in his book, Tiny Cocktails: big-flavored cocktails with half the spirit thanks to their miniature serving. For this Banana Bread cocktail, he creates a tiny twist on Natasha David’s Bananarac. “Becherovka and banana in a spirituous, Sazerac-style cocktail can be a lot of flavor for the average palate, so serving this tipple as a taster is like a delicious little shot in the arm,” he writes.

Ingredients

1/2 oz. rye whiskey
1/2 oz. sherry cask aged or finished scotch
1 tsp. banana liqueur
1 barspoon cinnamon-Earl Grey syrup
dash of Angostura bitters
Becherovka liqueur or absinthe for rinsing

Tools:mixing glass, barspoon, strainer
Glass:tiny rocks or martini
Garnish:lemon twist

Preparation

Rinse the mixing glass with a dash of Becherovka and pour out the excess (or drink it). Fill the mixing glass with ice, add the scotch, whiskey, banana liqueur, cinnamon–Earl Grey syrup, and bitters, and stir to chill and dilute. Strain the cocktail into a chilled tiny rocks or martini glass and garnish with the lemon twist. In a mug or measuring cup, steep the tea bag in the boiled water for 10 to 20 minutes. Meanwhile, put the sugar and cinnamon sticks in a heatproof bowl.
Cinnamon-Earl Grey SyrupRemove the Earl Grey teabag and reboil the tea. Pour the tea over a cup of granulated sugar and 2 cinnamon sticks and stir the syrup to help the sugar completely dissolve. Cover and let the cinnamon infuse the syrup for 2 to 4 hours (the longer the better). Strain the syrup into a bottle and store, tightly sealed, in the refrigerator for up to 1 month. (Makes about 1 1/2 cups)
NoteYou could also use absinthe to rinse the glass, but the Becherovka’s notes of baking spices will really amplify the cinnamon in the syrup, so it’s worth seeking out.