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Cocktail History
The East 8 Hold Up is a modern cocktail that was created in 2010 by Kevin Armstrong at Milk & Honey in London, England. Named for an actual robbery that happened to Armstrong in London’s E8 area, the recipe is made by mixing vodka, Aperol, and simple syrup with a combination of tropical flavors, including pineapple, passion fruit, citrus, and mint.
Cocktail Ingredients
To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following ingredients:
Vodka: This is a spirit made with grains, vegetables or fruits, and alcohol. We used Chopin Potato Vodka because it’s made with potatoes and has a full-bodied flavor. For a mocktail version of this drink, try STRYKK Not V*dka in place of the vodka.
Pineapple Juice: This is the liquid juice of a pineapple. We used fresh pineapple juice.
Aperol: This is an apéritif made in Italy with gentian root, rhubarb, cinchona, sugar, and alcohol. For a mocktail version of this drink, try Free Spirits Non-Alcoholic Aperitivo in place of the bitter liqueur.
Lime Juice: This is the liquid juice of a lime. We used freshly squeezed lime juice.
Simple Syrup: This is a sweetener made with white sugar and water. We made ours at home using Alex’s stovetop recipe.
Passion Fruit Syrup: This is a sweetener made with passion fruit juice, cane sugar, gum Arabic powder, and benzoic acid. We used Liber & Co. Tropical Passion Fruit Syrup.
Mint Sprig: This is an herb. We used Mojito mint.
Passion Fruit: This is a small and round tropical fruit with a tangy interior flesh.
Bartending Tools
To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following bar tools:
Jigger: This is used to measure and pour ingredients. We used the Japanese jigger from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.
Boston Shaker: This is used to shake ingredients. We used the Boston shaker from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.
Hawthorne Strainer: This is used to strain out ice and solid ingredients after the cocktail is shaken. We used the A Bar Above Hawthorne Strainer.
Paring Knife: This is used to cut ingredients. We used the OXO Good Grips 3.5 Inch Paring Knife.
Juicer: This is used to juice citrus. We used the ALEEHAI Manual Fruit Juicer.
Cocktail Pick: This is used to hold the garnish. We used one from the Prodyne Stainless Steel Martini Picks.
Tasting Notes
The East 8 Hold Up starts with aromas of mint and passion fruit and follows with an easygoing fruity taste made up of lightly bitter Aperol, sweet pineapple, tart lime, and passion fruit, all mingled together and carrying through into the aftertaste.
Our Opinion of This Cocktail Recipe: This recipe was certainly tasty and largely inoffensive. We might say the East 8 Hold Up almost suffers from its scientifically perfect balance because no one ingredient really stands out above any other, but that makes this wonderful for anyone looking for a tasty summertime cooler.
Which of our palates is yours most like?
Find out if your palate is most similar to Alex’s or Kendall’s by answering five questions.
Which of our palates is yours most like?
Find out if your palate is most similar to Alex’s or Kendall’s by answering five questions.
Alex’s Take: ⭐⭐⭐
“While this drink is good, I might call it ‘too good’ in the sense that the flavors are a bit too well-balanced to be indistinguishable from each other. While that’s not a bad thing, Kendall likened it to one of those non-alcoholic punches comprised of punch, Sprite, and sherbet that you serve at a work party or baby shower, and I couldn’t help but agree. Again, that’s the cocktail nerd in me talking. Anybody who tries this will think its absolutely delicious because it is. That said, I just tend to like a little more challenge and complexity in my own drinks, so to me it falls just a bit on the flat side.”—
Kendall’s Take: ⭐⭐⭐
“I didn’t know what to expect of this recipe, but I definitely did not imagine myself saying, ‘Wow, this tastes exactly like a punch you’d drink at a church baby shower.’ For some reason, one sip of this sent me deep into a core memory and pulled that experience right of my childhood, which is hilarious considering alcohol never would’ve been in one of my church’s punches. Overall, the cocktail is palatable and would, in fact, make a great boozy punch, but I rated it a little lower because it’s not all that complex. I mostly just got notes of pineapple with some tartness mixed in.”
Recipe
This cocktail recipe was adapted from Steve The Bartender’s Cocktail Guide by Steve Roennfeldt.
Add vodka, pineapple juice, Aperol, lime juice, simple syrup, passion fruit syrup, and cubed ice to a shaker.
Shake for 10-20 seconds.
Strain into a lowball glass over fresh cracked ice.
Garnish with mint sprig and passion fruit.
Ingredients
Directions
Add vodka, pineapple juice, Aperol, lime juice, simple syrup, passion fruit syrup, and cubed ice to a shaker.
Shake for 10-20 seconds.
Strain into a lowball glass over fresh cracked ice.
Garnish with mint sprig and passion fruit.
Make It a Mocktail: Use STRYKK Not V*dka in place of the vodka and Free Spirits Non-Alcoholic Aperitivo in place of the bitter liqueur to try a booze-free version of this drink.
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More Pineapple Cocktails
If you like this pineapple-based cocktail recipe, here are a few others we’ve tried that you may enjoy:
Smoky Pineapple Margarita: A tequila and mezcal cocktail made with triple sec, lime juice, pineapple syrup, Tajín, a lime wedge, and a lime slice
Elusive Dreams: A rum cocktail made with pineapple juice, lime juice, cinnamon syrup, banana liqueur, and a pineapple wedge
Greena Colada: A rum cocktail made with triple sec, lime juice, lemon juice, Green Chartreuse, velvet falernum liqueur, crème of coconut, mint, and a lime wheel
Something Tequila: A tequila cocktail made with pineapple juice, orange juice, lime juice, simple syrup, passion fruit syrup, a lime slice, a mint sprig, and edible flowers
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