I like the barrel proof bourbon for this cocktail. There’s a lot of juice and not a lot of liquor so the higher proof stands up well to the sweetness and gives the right kick without making it a huge pint glass of a drink.
OK yeah a clear cup would’ve been a little more photogenic, this is a pretty pink drink for the ladies in your life or for you to be a manly man and stick a umbrella in it.
Enough chatter, here’s how you make it:
1.5oz dry gin (Tanqueray or beefeater is great for this - don’t break out your good martini gin for this, leave the Hendricks in the cabinet)
.5oz Cherry Liqueur - my preference is Luxardo
.25oz Benedictine
.25oz Cointreau or triple sec
Small dash of angustora bitters - SMALL - I love bitters but you only need a tiny bit in this recipe and too much totally throws off the balance
1.5oz pineapple juice
.5oz fresh lime juice
Tiny bit of grenadine (you can add this now to pink up your drink or later to give it a layered look)
Shake it all hard with ice and strain into a glass with fresh ice.
Garnish with a wheel of lime or a chunk of pineapple and a cherry or all three.
It’s hard for me to remember to. So often I’m halfway in to whatever I just made and thinking damn this taste good I should post this recipe and then it’s gone
And hey if you or anyone else wants to post a recipe for me to mix I’m happy to drink it on your behalf and take a picture
I’ve been working on my mojito lately and have taken it to a funky sour minty place that I really am enjoying.
Ever since I went to the Bahamas back in March I’ve been on a high proof rum kick. I think I finally found the right mix for that funky pot still overproof island rum.
1oz Aged rum (silver rum is fine too)
1oz Cruzan Hurricane Proof Rum (135 proof)
1oz Smith & Cross Jamaican rum (108 proof)
Juice of 1 whole lime
.5oz maple syrup
10-15 mint leaves
Shake hard with ice, strain into a rocks glass and serve with a mint sprig.
The lime really works with the funk of the Jamaican pot still rum and the high test Cruzan rum gives it a strong back and let’s ya know it’s not some weak sh!t. The aged or silver rum is there as filler let’s be honest. More of either of the other two rums would either be too strong in taste or too much heat from all that alcohol to enjoy.
New one for me tonight as we bought a watermelon and I had some extra to play with…
Watermelon Margarita
2oz tequila (I’m using blanco cuz my wife likes it - I prefer something a little older)
1.5oz watermelon juice
.5 oz maple syrup
Half a line
Couple of mint leaves
Shake it hard for 13 seconds with a few cubes of ice to give it some body and soul. Then strain into a rocks glass full of fresh ice and serve with a mint sprig
Oh gosh, I’ll try not to ramble too much about maple syrup…
To be perfectly honest it’s about how lazy I’m feeling and what I have on hand and I pretty much always have maple. It’s a sub for simple for me. I’ll make up a batch of simple syrup from time to time but when I run out I’m usually making substitutions for it before I get around to making more. To be clear this is real natural maple syrup from maple trees, not log cabin or aunt Jemima.
Most bars use maple in a specialty cocktail or two around here. In a cocktail it’s not thick or sticky or cloying and it’s more like using agave than simple as it’s not so massively sweet. Hard to describe because it’s a subtle flavor - mellow with a barely there maple hint.
We consume a lot of maple syrup in Vermont. I think the average Canadian still has us beat but we got thru a lot so I always have a quart in the fridge. I got started on putting it in drinks by putting it in morning coffee. I don’t sweeten my coffee in the morning anymore but what I did…maple.
Main thing is - it’s not log cabin. I grew up on that crap and it took me a while to get past the idea that the two are not the same at all.
That’s the stuff! (I can tell you know cuz only Canadian syrup would be bilingual and canucks are the only people in this world crazier for maple than Vermonters!)
I don’t bother with the novelty bottles since I can get it right off the boiler from the guy down the road in the good old tan plastic jugs. - there’s half a dozen or more commercial producers in my tiny county (hardcore maple production around here… sap lines all through the woods, vacuum systems, reverse osmosis… serious producers). But my parents run a B&B and they put those on everyone’s night stands! Tourists can’t get enough
When we lived in NY, we used to make trips to VT and always brought some syrup back. Down here in VA its not “quite” as readily available but still worth finding.
I don’t bother with the fancy bottles either, but ironically, we had a salesperson visit from Canada yesterday (work related) and she brought some bottles down.
