Boozehound (29 page)

I’d never met many people who’d been to Haiti, and it helped Guillaume and me strike up a rapport right away. That and the fact that his family’s Calvados was one of the most sublime spirits I’d ever tasted. “You should come visit us in France sometime,” Guillaume said. A few years later, I did.

A Round of Drinks:
Yo Ho Ho

A rum and tonic or a Dark and Stormy (rum, ginger beer, and a squeeze of lime) are the usual ways I enjoy rum in a drink. Another easy rum cocktail idea is Martinique’s traditional Ti’ Punch (short for
petit punch
, or “little punch”): drizzle a bar spoon full of cane syrup into an old-fashioned glass, cut a small disk from the side of a lime and squeeze it into the glass, add one and a half ounces of rhum agricole and a chunk of ice, and serve. (And watch out for the little punch it packs.)

I’ve taken to using unaged rhum agricole from Neisson or Rhum Clément as my go-to white rum because of the wild, vegetal layers of flavor it adds to cocktails. As the rhum ages in oak casks, the grassy, funky qualities are tamed a little, creating a spirit that approaches the depth and complexity of a fine cognac. For everyday drinking, smooth and mellow Rhum Clément VSOP is the gold standard, at about thirty-five dollars a bottle. La Favorite Ambré, Neisson, and J.M.’s VSOP are excellent choices in the same price range. For those who are looking for a real splurge, I highly recommend the Rhum J.M. Vieux 1997 vintage. Even at around one hundred dollars, it is still an unbelievable value. With its explosion of aromas and tastes—nutty, herbal, chocolaty, slightly fruity—it is one of the finest spirits I’ve tasted on the spirits beat.

PAPA DOBLE

Serves 1

2 ounces rhum agricole

½ ounce freshly squeezed lime juice

½ ounce freshly squeezed grapefruit juice

¼ ounce maraschino liqueur

Fill a cocktail shaker halfway with ice. Add the rum, juices, and maraschino liqueur. Shake well for at least 60 seconds, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass or an ice-filled old-fashioned glass.

MACUA

Serves 1

Named after a tropical bird native to Central America, the Macua was declared the national drink of Nicaragua in late 2006, after a countrywide competition that took place during the heat of that year’s ugly presidential campaign. This long drink is light, tart, and only a bit sweet: the perfect drink for a warm afternoon. Goya’s guava juice is good to use, though guava nectar from Jumex is acceptable (the drink will be yellow instead of pink). Though white rum works best, an aged rum is also nice
.

2 ounces rum

2 ounces guava juice

1 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice

¼ ounce
simple syrup

Orange slice, for garnish

Fill a cocktail shaker halfway with ice. Add the rum, guava juice, lemon juice, and simple syrup. Shake well for at least 30 seconds, then strain into an ice-filled highball or Collins glass. Garnish with the orange slice.

EL PRESIDENTE

Serves 1

Popular in Havana during the 1920s and 1930s, the Presidente cocktail reportedly was offered to President Calvin Coolidge by then Cuban President Gerardo Machado. Coolidge, mindful of Prohibition back home, declined the drink. You should not. It has more in common with a martini or Manhattan than with standard tropical rum drinks. Be sure to use a good aged rum, like Venezuela’s Pampero Aniversario, Nicaragua’s Flor de Caña seven-year-old Grand Reserve, or—if you can find it—Havana Club Añejo from Cuba
.

1 ½ ounces aged rum

¾ ounce dry vermouth

¾ ounce Cointreau

½ teaspoon
homemade grenadine

Orange peel twist, for garnish

Fill a mixing glass two-thirds full with ice. Add the rum, vermouth, Cointreau, and grenadine. Stir vigorously for 30 seconds, then strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with the orange peel twist.

RUM MANHATTAN

Serves 1

There are many versions of a Rum Manhattan floating around, but I like this one because it calls for aged rhum agricole, which is rum distilled
from pure sugarcane juice in Martinique or Guadeloupe, such as Rhum Clément VSOP, Neisson Réserve Spéciale, or Rhum J.M. VSOP
.

2 ounces aged rhum agricole

1 ounce sweet vermouth

½ teaspoon maraschino liqueur

1 dash orange bitters

Orange peel twist, for garnish

Fill a mixing glass halfway with ice. Add the rum, vermouth, maraschino liqueur, and bitters. Stir vigorously for at least 30 seconds, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with the orange peel twist.

Recipe by Derek Brown of the Passenger and the Columbia Room, Washington, D.C
.

Now for a couple of offerings to the tiki gods.

Done right, tiki drinks seem to make the summer last just a little bit longer. So, what makes a tiki drink a tiki drink? They all have several common elements. The most obvious is that they have very complicated, multi-faceted recipes, some with as many as twelve ingredients. “With these drinks, you’re getting a complex culinary creation. It’s really easy to mess up and make these drinks badly,” says tiki expert Jeff “Beachbum” Berry.

Most tiki drinks are rum-based and have a citrus component, and a hallmark is the blending of numerous rum styles. You’ll often find three or more types of rum—a light, a dark, an aged, a smoky Guyanese Demerara—all in the same recipe. Berry says, “When I first looked into these recipes, I thought, ‘Why do I have to buy thirty different types of rum?’ One recipe called specifically for a 94.1 proof rum. I mean, why did it have to be exactly 94.1? It’s crazy. But it works. There’s almost a scientific formula behind all these recipes.” Tiki, for instance, is just about the only cocktail genre that calls for 151-proof rum. Berry says he’s tried to maneuver around the overproof rum, but the drinks just don’t have the same zing. “If you try to make a Zombie without the 151, it doesn’t fly,” he says. I concur.

Beyond the rum, good tiki drinks always balance flavor with some kind of sly flavoring agent, often a unique spice or secret-recipe syrup. “There’s a strange, teasing layer of flavor that you can’t quite put your finger on,” according to Berry. “You’re getting pushed and pulled in different directions.” Berry has spent many years trying to decipher the mysterious recipes of Don the Beachcomber, which Don kept in code so his bartenders couldn’t steal them. One example: An ingredient in the Zombie is “Don’s Mix,” a blend of fresh grapefruit juice and cinnamon-infused simple syrup. A more common tiki flavoring agent is orgeat, an almond-flavored syrup with hints of orange flower and rose water, another long-forgotten but essential ingredient in a Mai Tai.

Finally, the presentation and novelty factors are high. And we’re talking about more than little umbrellas. Classic tiki drinks come out elaborately flaming, sometimes adorned with flowers, sometimes in a ceremonial bowl. “They wanted you to talk about these drinks over the watercooler on Monday,” Berry says. “The Zombie was the Cosmopolitan of its day.” I find that amazing, almost unbelievable, considering how high-octane the Zombie is.

ZOMBIE

Serves 1

Be warned: Even Don the Beachcomber limited his customers to two Zombies a night, and that was during an era when very strong drinks were commonplace. The original 1934 Zombie recipe is a beast. Don’s more refined 1956 version is included here
.

1½ ounces pineapple juice

1½ ounces gold rum

1 ounce dark rum

¾ ounce freshly squeezed lime juice

¾ ounce maraschino liqueur

½ ounce Don’s Mix (2 teaspoons freshly squeezed grapefruit juice
,

1 teaspoon
cinnamon-infused simple syrup

½ ounce 151-proof rum

¼ ounce falernum, preferably John D. Taylor’s Velvet Falernum

¼ ounce
homemade grenadine

⅛ teaspoon Pernod

2 dashes Angostura bitters

¾ cup ice cubes

Mint sprig or pineapple slice, for garnish

In a blender, combine the pineapple juice, gold and dark rums, lime juice, maraschino liqueur, Don’s Mix, 151-proof rum, falernum, grenadine, Pernod, and bitters. Blend on low speed just to mix, then add the ice and blend on high speed for 5 seconds. Pour into a Collins glass or tiki mug; garnish with the mint sprig or pineapple slice.

Adapted from Don the Beachcomber’s original recipe by Jeff “Beachbum” Berry

MAI TAI

Serves 1

If a bartender uses orange juice and/or grenadine in your Mai Tai, he or she is making it wrong. Almond-flavored orgeat syrup is the key. In fact, the reason the Mai Tai evolved into such a laughably bad cocktail is mostly due to the disappearance of orgeat syrup by the late twentieth century. There are now a few small producers of orgeat, but the good news is that making your own is relatively easy
.

1 ounce aged Jamaican rum, preferably Appleton VX

1 ounce amber rhum agricole, preferably Rhum Clément VSOP

¾ ounce freshly squeezed lime juice, reserving a spent half lime for garnish

½ ounce Cointreau

½ ounce
orgeat syrup

¼ ounce
simple syrup

Mint sprig, for garnish

Fill a cocktail shaker halfway with ice. Add the Jamaican run, rhum agricole, lime juice, Cointreau, orgeat syrup, and simple syrup. Shake well, then pour (unstrained) into a double old-fashioned glass or wineglass. Garnish with a mint sprig and the spent shell of half a lime.