A Rum Old Fashioned

 

Inspired by Punch's Rum Old Fashioned contest, this concoction has cemented itself as my go-to favorite libation, particularly on a Friday night as I slide into a relaxing weekend. While an Old Fashioned is typically the playground of bourbon and rye, if you enjoy rum, I wholeheartedly recommend experimenting with this cocktail.

 

Ingredients

• 2 ounces well aged rum (see Rum note below)
• 0.25 ounces falernum
• 3 - 4 dashes orange bitters
• 1 teaspoon demerara syrup (optional and to taste) 
• Orange twist

Rum Note: Of paramount importance when it comes to selecting a rum for this libation is to ensure the bulk of the rum used is well aged - a minimum of five years, but the older the better in my opinion. You can use two (or more) different rums, just ensure the dominant rum has some maturity to it. I enjoy using two different rums when I am mixing this drink: an ounce and a half of an older, high proof 'sophisticated' rum (usually hailing from Barbados or Guyana) complemented by a half ounce of a wildly funky, but typically young Jamaican rum.

Composition

Place the rum, falernum, and orange bitters in a mixing vessel/cocktail shaker. Stir and taste, add demerara syrup as desired. Once satisfied with the libation's balance, add ice to the container and stir until well chilled. Strain into your favorite Old Fashioned glass over a large chunk of ice and garnish with an orange twist.

 

Commentary

This cocktail came into my life at just the right point in time. My interest in rum began about a decade ago and as the years passed, my knowledge and library of rums steadily increased. The lion's share of rum-based drinks in my repertoire have Tiki/Caribbean origins and I was curious to begin exploring the stirred rather than shaken world of rum drinks. I do recommend experimenting with various rums to find a combination that curls your toes. Speaking personally, I think heavy-bodied molasses based rums work best as the dominant rum with a smaller portion of a grassy rhum agricole or a high-ester Jamaican added to liven things up. A great rhythm section is always complimented by a vibrant horn section.

 

I do think the falernum is mandatory, but have found the need to add sweetness to be variable; be sure to adjust to your liking. Another mandatory component is the orange twist. Normally I'd say a drink's garnish can be skipped when mixing at home, but holy moly does an orange twist really boost the experience. It is because of this cocktail, and this cocktail alone, that I keep a orange in our refrigerator at all times so that should the mood strike, an orange twist is but a flick of the vegetable peeler away. 

 

Before closing, one word of caution regarding aged rum. Because whiskey is tightly regulated across the globe, age statements found on a whiskey bottle are completely trust worthy. The same cannot be said for rum. Sadly there are nefarious producers that market rums as being aged for a specific number of years when in fact they are no where near as aged as stated. When exploring specific rums for purchase consideration, please perform a bit of due diligence. A quick Internet search is indispensable in distinguishing the honest producers from the misleading producers. Happily over the past decade, I do feel producers are being more transparent and honest and the number of nefarious producers is decreasing. Cheers to that my friends.

 

 

Boulevardier goes to Starbucks

I recently had the great pleasure of spending a few indulgent days as a food and drink tourist in New York City. Many memorable bites and sips were enjoyed, but this post is dedicated to a moment that delivered genuine astonishment. I would have wagered the mortgage payment against the idea that a Starbucks would serve me the most memorable beverage of the trip, but that is precisely what happened. Just as with The Apriscot, below is my attempt to reverse engineer this wonderful cocktail.

The cocktail as listed on the Starbucks Reserve Arriviamo Bar Menu

Ingredients

• 2.0 ounces Bourbon whiskey
• 1.3 ounces Campari
• 1.3 ounces sweet vermouth
• Vanilla Syrup to taste (or simple syrup with vanilla extract added to taste)
  
• 2 dashes lavender bitters
• 3 tablespoons ground coffee (medium grind)
  

Composition

1. Place the coffee grinds in a cheesecloth-lined fine mesh strainer
2. In a cocktail shaker, combine the bourbon, Campari, and vermouth. Stir and taste, add vanilla syrup to your liking (usually one teaspoon for me). I like to ensure the drink is quite bold at this point, don't fret, we will be diluting a bit when we stir with ice just before serving.
3. Hold the the strainer/cheesecloth/coffee assembly with one hand over a clean glass large enough to hold everything in the cocktail shaker. Slowly pour the mixed cocktail over the coffee as evenly as possible.
4. Once fully strained through the coffee, toss the coffee grinds and transfer the cocktail from the glass back to the shaker and add the lavender bitters. Taste and adjust if needed.
5. When satisfied, add ice to the shaker and stir until the drink is well chilled and diluted to preference
6. Strain into your serving glass over a large cube of ice.
   

Commentary

A reminder that some of life's greatest surprises can indeed come from unexpected places. My friends and I were simply trying to kill thirty minutes or so in the early afternoon of our final day in New York when we decided to visit the bar we spotted earlier in the morning at the Chelsea Market Starbucks Reserve store. As we were walking from Little Island en route, I innocently blurted out my hope that the Starbucks bar had at least one coffee-infused cocktail. Oh how naive I was. The menu was filled with numerous creative coffee-infused drinks. Standard cocktails, while available, were relegated to the menu's dusty and less traveled back pages. There were two offerings on the menu that caught my eye - this Boulevardier and a Manhattan. Happily one of my friends ordered the Manhattan and I was able to sample the two cocktails that caught my eye, both equally enjoyable.

Two critical factors have emerged thus far as I've attempted to recreate this drink at home. First, the amount of coffee grinds. Too little coffee and the influence is nonexistent. Too much, and the cocktail is totally overwhelmed by the coffee. Currently I've settled on 3 tablespoons of coffee grinds to pass the cocktail through, but some further experimentation is needed. Second, the lavender bitters are fantastic, but be wary, too many dashes cloak the drink with an unmistakable floral/lavender/soap vibe. Less is more when it comes to the amount of lavender added to this drink.

 

My home setup

 

The drink as it was served to me at the Arriviamo Bar

The Apriscot

Inspired by a cocktail I enjoyed in New York City's Flatiron Room, below is my attempt to reverse engineer the libation's delicious savory smokiness.

 

The Apriscot as listed on the Flatiron Room's Menu

 

Ingredients

• 1.5 to 2.0 ounces peated Single Malt Whisky (see Whisky Note below)
• 1.0 ounce apricot liqueur
• 0.75 ounces fresh lemon juice
• 0.50 ounces orgeat
• Three dashes rhubarb bitters

Whisky Note: The quantity (and type) of peated single malt dictates the degree of smokiness delivered into the cocktail. 1.5 ounces injects a subtle smokiness whereas 2.0 ounces ushers in a hearty wallop of smoke. Adjust to your personal preferences.

Composition
Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker. Stir, taste and adjust as you see fit. Note, I omitted the simple syrup as the orgeat I used is quite sweet, your mileage may vary. Once happy, add ice to the shaker and shake until well chilled. Strain into a cocktail coupe and serve up.

In the future I will experiment with stirring the cocktail rather than shaking. While shaking vs. stirring will produce a slightly different cocktail, I'm sure each version will be enjoyable.

 
Commentary

An absolutely delicious riff on a whiskey sour in my opinion. The smoke element is the most pronounced aspect of the drink, but the lemon and apricot do hold their own. Fascinatingly, the rhubarb bitters appear towards the end of each sip as the unmistakable taste of rhubarb danced across my tongue. While the Flatiron Room uses Ardbeg's 5-year old 'Wee Beastie', I am in the final third of a bottle of Lagavulin's 9-year old that I am trying to finish and as such used that. In truth, I think any peated Single Malt will work, but just recognize that the peat characteristic of the whisky you use will absolutely carryover to the cocktail. Lagavulin will produce a different cocktail than Ardbeg, Laphroaig or Caol Ila for example.

 

As an aside, a major thank you to the Flatiron Room for disclosing the specific spirits used in their various cocktails. I love when cocktail menus do this as it not only provides invaluable information to whiskey fans, it also greatly aids the home bartender's efforts to recreate the concoction in the comfort of their own home. Cheers!