A visit from the queen of rum
“When people taste it, the first word you hear is, ‘Whoa,’” says Joy Spence, smiling. I take a sip. “Whoa,” I exclaim. She laughs.
From Jamaica to Vancouver
Chocolate Basil Daiquiri
INGREDIENTS:
2 oz light rum
1 oz fresh lime juice
3 fresh basil leaves, plus one for garnish
1 oz cocoa nib syrup*
1 egg white
cocoa powder for garnish
METHOD:
Pre-chill a cocktail glass. Add rum, lime, basil (torn in half), cocoa nib syrup and egg white to a cocktail shaker and dry shake without ice for about 10 seconds. Add ice and shake for an additional 10-15 seconds. Double strain into the glass using a fine mesh. Garnish with a fresh basil leaf and a small pinch of cocoa powder.
—by Justin Taylor
Old Fashioned Party Base
Nightingale head bartender Rhett Williams created this base to take the time-consuming part out of making an Old Fashioned, and to make it versatile enough to use with just bourbon, brandy, rye or rum. It’s perfect for hosting a crowd. Note that this recipe needs at least 24 hours before it’s ready to use.
How to stock your spirits cabinet
Every cocktail starts with a base spirit. Every home cocktail bar should do the same. The question is, what spirits do you really need to stock at home? What’s worth spending money on (and what isn’t)? After all, those bright, shiny bottles can be expensive.
Van Isle Iced Tea
This drink – created by Robyn Gray and Brad Stanton, head bartenders at Prohibition in the Rosewood Hotel Georgia – taps into several of 2017’s cocktail trends: infusions, new white spirits, and mixing multiple spirits together. Note that you can purchase jars of hibiscus flowers in syrup at stores like Gourmet Warehouse, or make your own using the recipe below.
Hot Buttered Rum
In the 17th century, American colonialists replaced the whisky in their toddies with rum. Then some genius added a pat of butter to the concoction while another added baking spices, and so they created the gloriously unctuous drink we know as hot buttered rum.
German Burnt Punch
A take on the traditional Feuerzangenbowle
• 1 sugar cube
• 0.25 oz Bacardi 151 over-proof rum
• 1 oz Asbach German brandy
• 1 oz Cointreau
• 3 oz fresh orange juice
• 0.5 oz fresh lemon juice
• 0.25 oz vanilla syrup (such as Giffard)
Hot Buttered Rum
Making the compound butter in advance will improve the finished drink. You could also package it for a seasonal gift.
INGREDIENTS:
2 tsp compound butter*
6 oz. boiling water
1-2 oz. dark rum to taste
cinnamon stick
METHOD:
Combine compound butter and boiling water in your serving mug and stir to dissolve. Add rum and garnish with a cinnamon stick.
Home Made Eggnog
Best made a few days in advance to allow the flavours to develop.
INGREDIENTS:
6 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp ground allspice
12 oz bourbon or rum
3 cups whole milk
1.5 cups heavy cream
2 whole nutmegs (for garnish)
METHOD:
Measure all your ingredients. Add the eggs to a blender running on lowest setting. After 20 seconds slowly pour in sugar and allspice. Increase speed to medium and slowly add bourbon, followed by milk and cream, and blend for one minute. Refrigerate immediately in an airtight container. Stir before serving. Garnish with freshly grated nutmeg. Makes 8-10 servings.
Don the Beachcomber’s Mai Tai
Donn Beach—a.k.a. Ernest Raymond Beaumont Gantt, a.k.a. Don the Beachcomber—reportedly invented his version of the drink in 1933, when it was called a Mai Tai Swizzle.
• 1 oz gold rum
• 1.5 oz dark rum
• 1 oz (30 mL) grapefruit juice
• 0.75 oz lime juice
• 0.5 oz Cointreau or triple sec
• 0.25 oz falernum
• 6 drops Pernod
• Dash of Angostura bitters
• Mint sprig to garnish