Monday, November 12, 2007

The Bacardi Special


This month's Mixology Monday is being hosted by Jay over at Oh, Gosh! The topic this time around is "gin." Since gin is the no-holds-barred, most mixable spirit out there, I am anxious to see all the posts.

Gin is so mixable in fact, I'm going to look at it in a rum drink! I know what you're thinking. "You'd have to be some kinda Jeffrey Morgenthaler to try something like that, right?" Wrong.

A Bacardi cocktail is basically a Daiquiri that uses Grenadine in place of simple syrup. It also must contain Bacardi rum, but that's whole different story.

Here's the basic recipe for the Bacardi Cocktail.

Bacardi Cocktail

1.5 oz Bacardi Light
juice of half a lime
2 teaspoons grenadine


This is a fine cocktail, and it was all the rage in the thirties but there is a problem. The problem is that the Bacardi Cocktail doesn't have any gin in it, and with Gin being this month's theme, I need to move on. The Bacardi Special is a variation on the Bacardi Cocktail. The special part comes when you add a measure of gin to the standard recipe.

Bacardi Special
1.5 oz Bacardi Light
.75 oz gin
juice of half a lime
2 teaspoons grenadine

Shake over ice and double-strain into a cocktail glass.

The addition of gin in the Bacardi Special gives the cocktail an added complexity, an exotic flavor that ties the drink together. I've also been experimenting with the new Pama Pomegranate Liqueur from Heaven-Hill. Substituting the Pama for grenadine works really well here. It beats the heck out of the common sickly-sweet grenadines, and rivals a good homemade grenadine.




Bacardi Special (Variation)
1.5 oz Bacardi Light
.75 oz gin
.5 oz Pama Pomegranate Liqueur
juice of half a lime
barspoon simple syrup

Shake over ice and double-strain into a cocktail glass.

The Pama smells fresh, and has a good tart pomegranate bite. To balance the tartness of the limes and pomegranate, I use a barspoon of simple syrup. This cocktail has a gorgeous pale red color and a crisp, sophisticated flavor. This recipe will serve two if reasonably-sized cocktail glasses are used.

The gin and rum play well together here and I think there's plenty of room for experimenting along these lines. I think gin will mix well with anything. Don't forget to check the wrap-up at Oh, Gosh! for all the Mixology Monday details.

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5 Comments:

Blogger erik.ellestad said...

The Bacardi Special is a great drink!

I served it at a dinner and cocktail party I hosted and it was far and away the most popular drink of the night.

Gotta love it when those pre-prohibition cocktails have legs.

9:33 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Um, can I just please have a gin martini?

2:50 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

These sound great but, what is a "double strain"?

Cheers,

10:13 PM  
Blogger jimmyp said...

Hi Mike,

Double strain is a style of straining where your pour through a hawthorne or julep strainer AND through a mesh strainer. You see this a lot from UK bartenders. And me.

11:01 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ah, I get it, thanks. What's the reason for doing that? Pulp from the fruit juice?

5:22 PM  

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