Panther Milk is wildly popular in Barcelona—do you know it yet? (+ recipe)
Sangria and tinto de verano; both drinks are Spanish, wildly popular, and easy to make. Another drink you’ll find on many drinks menus is Panther Milk. Typically Spanish, but do you know it yet?
Panther Milk, leche de pantera in Spanish, is a drink that dates back decades. The story goes that the cocktail first appeared on a bar menu sometime around 1920. At the time, military general José Millán-Astray asked the bartender whether he could come up with a cheap and simple cocktail that the soldiers could make themselves, wherever they were. The result: the Panther Milk cocktail, made with condensed milk, gin, water, and ice.
Wildly popular in Barcelona
Whether this story actually happened is still occasionally questioned. More than the truth, we’re actually wondering what this cocktail tastes like—and whether it’s any good. Because gin and condensed milk: doesn’t that sound just as unappetizing as karnejus?
The Spanish love it, at any rate, especially in Barcelona. These days, Panther Milk consists of more than condensed milk and gin. It often also contains a splash of regular milk, brandy, or rum, and the cocktail is finished with a pinch of cinnamon. For the pink version, Pink Panther Milk, add a splash of grenadine.
How to make (Pink) Panther Milk
- Shake all the ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker.
- Strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a cocktail glass.
- Finish with a pinch of cinnamon.
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Recipe and image: stevethebartender.com
