Da Nang, a best-selling cocktail and menu standard at Tiger Mama since the restaurant opened, feels every bit as lush and tropical as the Vietnamese resort town it’s named after. The drink’s build—comprised of equal parts vodka, Aperol, St-Germain, and lime juice, plus a bit of passion fruit syrup—also makes it one of the simpler selections on the menu.

“It’s our crushable, everyday vodka drink,” says beverage director Brian Callahan.

To create the passion fruit syrup, Callahan mixes equal parts passion fruit purée and simple syrup. But for an even easier route, he recommends picking up a pre-made syrup such as B.G. Reynolds Passion Fruit Cocktail Syrup, which you can buy at The Boston Shaker in Davis Square.

The clean neutrality of vodka gives the drink’s bright, fruity flavors room to shine, but Callahan recommends playing with other spirits, too.

“It’s in the Last Word category,” he says, referring to the famously customizable equal-parts cocktail made with gin, lime juice, and liqueurs. “You can swap out the vodka. I’ve made it for people with tequila, I’ve done it with rum and gin. It’s very versatile.”

Da Nang
¾ ounce vodka
¾ ounce Aperol
¾ ounce St-Germain
¾ ounce lime juice
½ ounce passion fruit syrup*
Luxardo cherry, for garnish
Lime half-moon, for garnish

Add vodka, Aperol, St-Germain, lime juice, and passion fruit syrup to a shaker filled with ice and shake until chilled. Double strain into a coupe glass and garnish with Luxardo cherry and lime.
 
*Passion Fruit Syrup (yields about 1 cup)
½ cup passion fruit purée (such as The Perfect Purée of Napa Valley Passion Fruit Concentrate)
½ cup simple syrup

Combine purée with simple syrup in a container and seal. Keeps about 2 weeks, refrigerated.