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.

World's Best Gin & Tonic

Summer is here and it time to look at a great seasonal classic. The Gin & Tonic.

I'm going to give you the secret to making the world's best Gin & Tonic. Guess what, the key to this cocktail is not the gin. It's the tonic. I don't care how super-ultra-premium your favorite gin is, it's not going to taste great once you mix it with a flabby, sub-par tonic. Bargain-basement mixer is going to make a bargain-basement cocktail.

The best tonic water I have ever had is Fever-Tree Premium Indian Tonic Water. The Fever-Tree Tonic uses premium ingredients such as bitter orange from Tanzania, African Marigold, Lemons from Sicily and pure cane sugar. Dry and refreshing, with complex and subtle flavors, this tonic is the perfect compliment to a premium gin.

The World's Best Gin & Tonic
1.5 oz. Bombay Gin
4 oz. Fever-Tree Premium Indian Tonic Water
Garnish with a fresh lime wedge.

I used Bombay Gin in my G&T, but use your favorite gin and see the difference a premium mixer makes. Just don't ruin your premium tonic water with bad gin...

More information about Fever-Tree Tonic Water and their full range of premium mixers is available at www.fever-tree.com.

Habanero Orange Blossom

Gary Regan mentioned this one in the Chronicle, and now people are bugging me to get the recipe up here. Here it is:

Habanero Orange Blossom

1.5 oz. Sarticious Gin
1 oz Orange Juice
1 dash Orange Bitters
2 slices habanero pepper

Carefully remove all seeds and pulp from habanero pepper and cut it into slices or rings. (Wear rubber gloves when you're messing around with these pappers, they're hot!)

Dash the orange bitters into the cocktail glass. Shake the Sarticious Gin, orange juice, and a slice of habanero pepper and double strain into the cocktail glass, garnish with a slice of habanero pepper.

I used Sarticious Gin in this one because it has a lot of unique botanicals that go really well with the pepper. Jeff Alexander, the man behind Sarticious, mentions cilantro, coriander, cardamon, and orange among other secret ingredients. Orange juice is traditionally used to tame the heat from habaneros, so this cocktail seemed like a natural. The heat from the pepper goes really well with the orange juice and botanicals. It is hot though. If you don't like spicy, you probably won't like this one.

I'd like to make a habanero/gin infusion to use a drop or dash at a time like bitters. I think it would give a bit more control over the heat level in this cocktail. If you try this one, let me know what you think.