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I’ve wanted to tackle a few of the cocktails in “Squeezed, Then Stirred,” since I received the June issue of Gourmet in the mail last week. My first picks were the Black-Currant Diablo and the Passion-Fruit Caiprinha. Both have somewhat elusive ingredients. I was able to find Looza, the Belgian line of bottled juices, in passion fruit but not black currant at Whole Foods in Glendale. I also visited a few liquor stores before tracking down a bottle of Brazilian cachaca — ultimately at a store called ‘Liquor Store,’ on Hillhurst, for $29.99 (!*%).

Passion-Fruit Caipirinha
Makes 1 Drink
1/4 fresh lime, cut into 4 pieces
2 teaspoons superfine granulated sugar
3 oz (6 tablespoons) pure passion-fruit juice
1.5 oz (3 tablespoons) cachaca

Add lime wedges and sugar to a short 8-ounce glass and mash by pounding and pressing with a wooden spoon until the sugar is dissolved. Fill glass to the top with small cubes of ice and add passion-fruit juice and cachaca, then stir well. The passion-fruit juice is tangy and tropical, the fresh lime imbues a sparkling tartness, while the cachaca lingers in the background.

It’s better to make the drinks one at a time, I think. If you’ve ever had a lousy Caipirinha at a bar, you know what I mean. And if you’ve seen “City of God,” drinking one of these after a hot day at work, is like paddling around beside a moon-lit beach with Rocket, Benny and Angelique — back before things got crazy.