Cocktail No 29 East india

Its a Rum night tonight and the East India is fabulous on a cold, miserable night like tonight.

I am really surprised by this cocktail. It only has a splash of pineapple juice, but it mixes and blends with the Rum to a much greater flavour that I would have predicted. As alcohol strength goes, its up there with the Martini, as its basically neat rum diluted with a teaspoon of juice. However I wouldn't be tempted to increase the pineapple juice otherwise the drink will be overly sweet. If its too strong, then add a splash of soda.

This is another one of multiple sensations. Initially just coldness on the tongue and no flavour, developing into sweetness after 1/2 a second, which rapidly becomes recognisable as pineapple, then as you swallow that wonderful harshness of the rum biting then warming at the back of the throat - me likee. This could be fantastic made with Cachaça instead of rum and then it would be a very aggressive drink.

Recipe

Add 1 & 1/2 measures white rum to a shaker with 1 teaspoon of Cointreau, 1 teaspoon of pineaple juice and a dash of angostura bitters. Shake on ice until chilled and strain into a cocktail glass.

Cocktail No 28 Planter's Cocktail

Wasn't quite planned as I had mixed the orange and lemon juice in the wrong quantitiy for the original cocktail, but a pleasant mistake indeed. The lemon juice cutting the rum is the dominant taste note. The rum give its usual earthy caramel warmth, taken a bit deeper by the angostura bitters. Then the orange comes through to balance everything out.

A perfect drink for a balmy summer night.

Recipe

Add 1 & 1/2 measures of rum to a shaker with 3/4 measure of orange juice and 3/4 measure of lemon juice. Add 2 dashes of Angostura Bitters and a teaspoon of caster sugar or a splash of sugar syrup. Shake well on ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Decorate with cherry.

Cocktail No 16 Daiquiri (classic)

Forget the frozen slushpuppy versions that seem all you can get in the bars today, the original version is far superior and a well deserved classic of the cocktail world. It counts high as one of my favourites (I'm a traditionalist at heart)! I had to make up fresh sugar syrup for this one (225 g of sugar dissolved and boiled in 300 mls of water - store in fridge).

If you have never had one you must try it. The mouth feel is incredible - tartness from the lemon or lime juice, sweetness from the rum and sugar syrup and earthiness from the rum. The flavours come one after the other and there is a chilling effect on the roof of the mouth. Its quite hard to describe the experience except to say its is really good and intense and I recommend you try it. You can see from the pics that I used freshly squeezed lemon juice which clouds the drink. I don't mind that but if you want it perfectly clear use the bottled lemon juice.

With thanks from Wikipedia for the history: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daiquiri

Recipe

Add 2 measures of Barcardi or white rum to a cocktail shaker with 1 measure of lemon or lime juice and 1/2 measure of sugar syrup. Shake on ice and strain into a cocktail glass, Drink and enjoy - no further garnishes are needed for this raw, elemental drink.

Cocktail No 15 Fireman's Sour

A sweet and sour delight for rum lovers. Other recipes call for more lemon, but I think this one is better balanced and not too sharp but with a definite sting. Its getting the weekend of to a wonderful start.

The rum is the predominant flavour, very caramelly and rich, but cut by the lemonjuice. The grenadine mainly adds colour, but the combination with the soda water really distinguishes it from a daquiri, which has similar proportions.

Recipe

Add 3 measures of Bacardi rum to a cocktail shaker with 1/2 measure of lemon juice and one teaspoon of grenadine. Shake with ice and strain into a tumbler. Decorate with 3 cocktail cherries and 6 small triangles of lemon.

Top Up with a little soda water.

Cocktail No 14 Barcardi Blossom

New batch of rum made so started with the first rum based cocktail. Surprisingly tart and dry considering the main component is rum and since this is made from fermented sugar cane, it is intrinsically sweet. The lemon juice is surprisingly effective, considering such a small amount is used. The orange juice just gives colouring.

Recipe

Add 2 measures of white rum (Barcardi) to a cocktail shaker with 2 tespoons of orange juice and 2 teaspoons of lemon juice with one teaspoon of sugar syrup (or one teaspoon castor sugar). Add ice, shake and strain into a cocktail glass.

Cocktail No 6 Havana Club

Getting back to the classics, which to be honest is the majority of cocktails that I drink.

Havana Club - how to describe it - the molasses from the rum gives a great warm under belly to this drink. I used spiced rum, which gives an extra kick whilst the original calls for white rum.

The rosso vermouth has a strong flavour so be gentle on the measure. It provides a complexity of flavour from all the herbs and aromatics - too much will create bitterness and cloying sweetness. The ratio of 2:1 is about right IMHO.

Shame I have run out of rum - a second one would be most welcome. This one is a keeper in my books.

Recipe

Add 2 measures of White Rum and 1 measure of Rosso Vermouth to a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a cocktail glass. Decorate with a cocktail cherry on a stick.