It's officially spring, so you'd better start shaking.
Sours are some of the oldest cocktails there are, hailing all the way back to the 1800s. Its invention is attributed to the British Navy – of course they were trying to keep scurvy away by mixing rum with lime juice, but what they actually succeeded in creating was an early Daiquiri prototype. Mixing a Rum Sour is easy: sugar syrup, lime juice, ice, an egg white (which gives it the fun foamy head), and rum, which brings the majority of the flavour to the drink, so you want a good one. Old J Spiced is an English rum with a buccaneer backstory, but for your Sour, all you need to know is it’s infused with vanilla and Persian lime so, as a flavour base, it pops.
Rum fans and Classic Old Fashioned drinkers alike will be all about this new way to sip a favourite. To make it, all you have to do is switch bourbon out for rum. Leave the orange twist garnish as it is, and you’ve got perfection. Being one of the purest (read: simplest) of cocktails, the rum you use matters. Mid-range or higher is the guide, and Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva Rum is bang on. It’s a combo of several reserves, each no younger than 12 years, and the overall effect is long, smooth waves of orange peel, toffee fudge and licorice. Please and thank you.
Have you heard of the “angels’ share”? When spirits are aged in barrels, a small amount of liquid is lost to evaporation, and that donation to the heavens is called the angels’ share. In the Caribbean, a ghost or spirit is called a Duppy, hence the origin behind The Duppy Share Aged Caribbean Rum, the base spirit of this Duppy Conqueror cocktail. It’s a perfect balance of the fiery Jamaican and buttery Barbados rums that make it up, accentuated fabulously in this cocktail by the grated nutmeg atop.
Grab that tiki glass from the back of the cupboard, the Jungle Bird is all about a tropical shirt and maraschino cherry. After all, it was invented in Kuala Lumpur’s Hilton Hotel in 1973. Tart pineapple juice, bitter Campari, fresh lime juice and shaken ‘til ice cold. There’s a lot bringing flavour to this cocktail, so you could use a lower-tier rum, but when it’s made with something really good, like Dos Maderas 5+3 Double Aged Rum, wowee, it really brings the base. Tiki cocktails are made for personalisation, too, so adjusting the measurements to suit your palate is A-okay. And if you’re making it with Dos Maderas – which is aged five years in the Caribbean, then another three in Spain – you might want to adjust in its favour.
Here, the freshest of classic cocktails (all that mint and soda water) is made more tropical with glorious passionfruit pulp. In Peru, muddling fresh passionfruit in a Mojito makes it a Mojito de Maracuya, which just sounds like a delicious time. The rum in a Mojito is responsible for the body of the drink; without it, you’re essentially in seltzer territory. Santisima Trinidad 3 Year Old Cuban Rum is a younger, softer rum, and it does the job well. The light woody notes, and hints of almonds, vanilla, grapes and dried plum make for Mojitos with that little bit more mojo.
