The Best Cocktail To Pair With Key Lime Pie

We are big believers in not limiting cocktail hour to simply one hour; we like to keep the party going all the way through to dessert. However, there's definitely an art to pairing cocktails with desserts, with bold flavors and sugars about, you can't just combine any old spirit with your crème de violette. For this piece, we were interested in what would go best with a deliciously sweet and sour key lime pie, so we spoke with Lynette Marrero, a mixologist who was recently honored at New York Bartender Week.

According to Marrero, you should pair the classic dessert with a daiquiri. "The zesty lime profile perfectly complements the pie's creamy tartness, creating a harmonious lime-forward experience," she explains. "For a twist, consider a coconut daiquiri to play up the tropical notes. Just add some coconut water or substitute a coconut liqueur like Kalani for the simple syrup." Even though a daiquiri sounds like the kind of exotic drink a beach-side bartender should make and serve directly to your lounge chair, it's actually quite simple to make. All you need to do is shake up three ingredients, light rum, lime, and syrup, with ice, and you'll have yourself a sweet, tart, and tasty daiquiri.

Considering the daiquiri only takes about five minutes to make, it's the perfect drink to pair with the more labor intensive key lime pie recipe. The hardest part of making a key lime pie from scratch is figuring out the timing – - the actual steps are relatively easy. In total, it'll take you about three and a half hours, and you'll want to make sure to save the meringue making for the very end to avoid unsightly splitting.

We recommend you make the crust and filling the day before serving because you need to cool your crust and filling for three hours (or even better, overnight) before you add the meringue. Then, when it's time to make the meringue, you can make your cocktails so you have something to sip on while torching your meringue top. Fire and alcohol are a dangerous combo, but what better way to impress your guests than to give them drinks and a show?