You might not think an Italian restaurant known for its pear and Gorgonzola agnolotti and tomato-rich snapper and seafood cacciucco soup would also be a haven for rum lovers, but that will change once you meet Il Tempio’s two bartenders.

Mint and Mango Spicy Martini
Makes 1 cocktail

Half a lime, cut in wedges
8-10 fresh mint leaves
3-4 oz. mango purée
1 oz. Scotch bonnet pepper-infused white rum
3 slices of fresh mango, a small sprig of mint and a whole Scotch bonnet pepper, for garnish

Instructions

1. Moisten the rim of a Martini glass with a lime wedge.

2. Gently muddle together the lime wedges and mint in a cocktail shaker.

3. Add the mango purée and rum along with ice and shake to combine.

4. Strain the drink into the lime-rimmed Martini glass and garnish with a skewer of Scotch bonnet pepper (if you’re brave), a few slices of fresh mango and the sprig of mint.

For this recipe you’ll need mango purée – preferably from an exceptionally ripe mango – rather than mango juice. The pulp of the purée softens the heat of the Scotch bonnet pepper. One small mango should make enough purée for a single drink, but make more for multiple cocktails and use any leftovers in smoothies, or for tomorrow’s aperitivo.

To make the purée, cut around the pit of the mango, scrape out the flesh and blend it in a blender until smooth. There’s no need to add sugar or water, says Acquaro. An exceptionally ripe mango mixed with the rum should be sweet enough, but you can always add simple syrup to taste. You can also use frozen mango purée, but most commercial purées are sweetened, so the cocktail will end up being sweeter.

1. The amount of Scotch bonnet pepper you use depends on when you’re planning to make the cocktail. Four peppers should infuse in two to three days. Five to six peppers will take about one to two days.

2. Remove the seeds and white pith from the insides of the peppers and discard them. “Otherwise the infusion becomes too spicy and bitter”, says Acquaro. Then, pop the peppers into a full bottle of white rum and taste it every day until it’s ready. Not all peppers are created equal and only you know how much spice you can handle. “The colour should be very pale yellow, almost white”, says Valente. Then strain out the peppers and discard or use them for garnishing the drink.

3. After two weeks, the infused rum loses its flavour, so if you’re not planning on going through a whole bottle of rum within that time, make a smaller batch.