Nothing fancy here, just a simple, refreshing cocktail well suited to take you through the warmer months of the year. Though I love whiskey, I’m not a fan of drinking it as much once the mercury begins to rise(mercury was in these things called thermometers back in the olden days young bucks). What this means is once it’s warmer out comes the rum(distilled from molasses) or rhum(distilled from sugar cane). I prefer rhum because of the taste and lately I’ve been enjoying Rhum Barbancourt(pictured above) which is one of Hati’s oldest distillers of the pirate’s drink of choice. There are many well written articles about rhum and it’s place in history but this isn’t of of them. This is a simple cocktail recommendation that I think just about anyone will enjoy. No specific measurements(this ain’t Mr.Boston’s), no craft ingredients(not your local “speakeasy”). Just the stuff I grabbed from the corner store and what was already laying around. I like Fentiman’s ginger beer but Bundabergs or Cock N’ Bull would be suitable as well, maybe even better, I’ve yet to try it. You’ll want a since tart lemonade, not one of the overly sugary one you’re likely to find in Whole Foods being sold as “healthy”. I’d never seen Cabana brand until I stopped into the corner store but it was there, I grabbed it and I like it. Wish to hell Snapple still made it’s lemonade like it used to, that stuff was killer. So start with as much rhum as you think you should have and then half that amount of lemonade. Squeeze in half a lime, muddle two or three sprigs of mint leaves, toss em in a shaker with ice and have at it. While you’re shaking away, slowly realizing how out of shape your arms are, think about what type of glass you want to put this concoction in. According to mixologist types, the drink is only as good as the vessel from which it’s served. I call bullshit on this unless of course it’s whiskey in which case an old fashioned tumbler is the only acceptable option. In this instance I’ve opted to go with my large Tervis tumbler because I can fill it to the brim with ice and still get plenty of drink in there. Also they’re just big plastic cups so it doesn’t matter if you over serve yourself and drop it. As always I encourage you all to experiment with ratios, ingredients and see what you come up with. The worst that happens is you have a beverage that doesn’t taste very good but you still get a buzz. At that point you’ll know how it feels to drink at The Cheesecake Factory.
Cheers!
