And a Bottle of Rum, Revised and Updated
Page 28
2 ounces rum (lighter Cuban-style rum is traditional)
½ ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
½ ounce simple syrup
A few dashes Angostura bitters, for garnish (optional)
Shake all the ingredients in an ice-filled cocktail shaker and strain into a coupe. Garnish with the bitters, if using.
BACARDI COCKTAIL
A daiquiri variation. Use Bacardi rum lest the lawyers hound you.
2 ounces white Bacardi rum
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
1 teaspoon simple syrup or bar sugar
½ teaspoon grenadine syrup
Lime slice, for garnish
Shake all the ingredients in an ice-filled cocktail shaker and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with the lime slice.
EL FLORIDITA DAIQUIRI
From the 1934 Bar La Florida Cocktails guide.
2 ounces rum
Juice of ½ lime
1 teaspoon bar sugar or sugar syrup
1 teaspoon maraschino liqueur
Shake all the ingredients with crushed ice in a cocktail shaker (or blend in a blender) and pour into a cocktail glass.
PIRATE’S COCKTAIL
A simple, elegant rum Manhattan from the Esquire Drink Book.
3 ounces dark rum
1 ounce sweet vermouth
1 dash Angostura bitters
Stir all the ingredients in an ice-filled cocktail shaker and strain into a short glass.
RUM BRONX
The original Bronx—once almost as famous as the Manhattan—was made with gin. This rum variant is sometimes called a Third Rail.
2 ounces medium-bodied rum
½ ounce freshly squeezed orange juice
¼ ounce sweet vermouth
¼ ounce dry vermouth
1 strip orange peel, for garnish
Shake all the ingredients in an ice-filled cocktail shaker and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with the orange peel.
RUM COLLINS
1½ ounces white rum
Juice of ½ lemon
¼ ounce simple syrup
Club soda
Orange slice and maraschino cherry, for garnish
Shake the rum, lemon juice, and simple syrup in a cocktail shaker. Strain into a tall glass filled with ice. Top off with club soda. Garnish with the orange slice and cherry.
PLANTER’S PUNCH
David Embury’s recipe from 1948.
3 ounces Jamaican rum
1 ounce sugar syrup
2 ounces freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 or 3 dashes Angostura bitters
Soda water
Fruit, for garnish
Shake all the ingredients (except the soda water and fruit) vigorously with crushed ice in a cocktail shaker and pour, without straining, into a tall glass. Pack the glass to the top with more crushed ice, fill to within ½ inch with soda water, then churn with a bar spoon until the glass starts to frost. Garnish with fruit.
CUBA LIBRE
The liberal use of lime juice separates this from its more pedestrian cousin, the rum and coke.
Juice of ½ lime
2 ounces rum (Cuban, if you can get it)
4 ounces Coca-Cola (Mexican, if you can get it)
1 dash Angostura bitters (optional)
Lime wedge, for garnish
In a tall glass, mix together the lime juice and rum. Fill with ice, then add the Coca-Cola and bitters, if using. Garnish with the lime wedge.
MYRTLE BANK PUNCH
Trader Vic’s interpretation (1948) of a famous punch served to Prohibition-era tourists on the porch of one of the best hotels in Kingston, Jamaica.
1½ ounces dark Jamaican rum
¾ ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
½ ounce grenadine syrup
1 teaspoon bar sugar
Club soda
½ ounce maraschino liqueur
Shake the rum, lime juice, grenadine, and sugar in an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Strain into a tall glass filled with fresh crushed ice, fill with club soda, and top with a float of maraschino liqueur.
MACARTHUR COCKTAIL
In 1946, Lucius Beebe considered this one of the top rum cocktails.
1½ ounces light rum
½ teaspoon dark rum
¾ ounces triple sec
Dash of egg whites
Shake all the ingredients in an ice-filled cocktail shaker and strain into a cocktail glass.
HEMINGWAY DAIQUIRI
Said to be created for Ernest Hemingway by Constantino Ribalaigua Vert at El Floridita in Havana. Hemingway omitted the simple syrup, but you’ll want to include it.
1½ ounces rum (lighter rum is preferred)
¼ ounce maraschino liqueur
¾ ounce simple syrup
½ ounce grapefruit juice
¾ ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
Shake all the ingredients in an ice-filled cocktail shaker until good and frosty, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
MARY PICKFORD
Popular in Cuba during Prohibition, and better than it sounds.
1½ ounces white rum
1 ounce pineapple juice
¼ teaspoon grenadine syrup
¼ teaspoon maraschino liqueur
Shake all the ingredients vigorously in an ice-filled cocktail shaker, then strain into a cocktail glass.
EL PRESIDENTE
Another Havana drink from the Prohibition, named after Cuban President Mario García Menocal.
1½ ounces white or amber rum
¾ ounces orange Curaçao (optional)
¾ ounces dry vermouth
½ teaspoon grenadine syrup
Stir all the ingredients in an ice-filled cocktail shaker until chilled, then strain into a cocktail glass.
DARK AND STORMY
The classic Bermuda highball.
2 ounces dark rum (Goslings, if you don’t want to get sued)
4 ounces 66 ginger beer
Lime slice, for garnish
Mix the rum and ginger beer in a tall glass filled with ice and garnish with the lime slice.
HURRICANE
This was invented during World War II at Pat O’Brien’s in New Orleans and has likely contributed to more foggy memories of the French Quarter than any other drink. Most Hurricanes today are made of mixes and artificial ingredients, but this is a fresher variation.
2 ounces light rum
2 ounces dark rum
2 ounces passion fruit juice
1 ounce freshly squeezed orange juice
½ ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tablespoon sugar or simple syrup
1 tablespoon grenadine syrup
Maraschino cherry and orange slice, for garnish
Shake all the ingredients in an ice-filled cocktail shaker and strain into a hurricane glass. Garnish with the cherry and orange slice.
MAI TAI
This is the patriarch of the tiki drinks, often bastardized with tragic results. This recipe hews closely to the original drink as invented by Victor Bergeron.
1 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
1 ounce Rhum Clément VSOP (or other aged Martinique rum)
1 ounce Appleton Estate rum
½ ounce orange Curaçao
½ ounce orgeat syrup
¼ ounce simple syrup
Lime shell, for garnish
Mint sprig, for garnish
Combine all the ingredi
ents in a cocktail shaker filled with 2 cups crushed ice and shake vigorously for 10 seconds. Pour into a double rocks glass and garnish with the lime shell and mint sprig.
ZOMBIE
David Embury notes (1948): “Twenty different bars serving this drink will probably put out eighteen to twenty versions of it.” Part of the reason for so many variants was the secrecy about its ingredients since the dawn of the tiki drink movement. Around 2005, Jeff “Beachbum” Berry had a breakthrough—he connected with the daughter of an early Don the Beachcomber bartender, who provided a recipe that helped him figure out this 1934 Zombie, which is likely the original.
¾ ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
½ ounce falernum
1½ ounces gold Puerto Rican rum
1½ ounces dark Jamaican rum
1 ounce 151-proof Demerara rum (Lemon Hart if you can find it)
1 teaspoon grenadine syrup
6 drops Pernod
1 dash Angostura bitters
½ ounce Don’s Mix #2 (2 parts grapefruit juice to 1 part cinnamon syrup)
Mint sprig, for garnish
Add all the ingredients to a blender with ¾ cup of crushed ice, and whirr for 5 seconds (no more). Pour over ice cubes into a tall glass and garnish with the mint sprig.
JUNGLE BIRD
The Jungle Bird is a late-phase tiki drink with a nontraditional bitter element in the Campari. It was originally created in the 1970s at the Aviary Bar in Kuala Lumpur.
1½ ounces dark rum
¾ ounce Campari
½ ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
½ ounce simple syrup
1½ ounces pineapple juice
Shake all the ingredients in an ice-filled cocktail shaker until frothy and chilled. Strain over cracked ice into a rocks glass.
HAI KARATE
A tiki concoction invented by Jeff “Beachbum” Berry.
2 ounces amber Virgin Islands rum
1 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
1 ounce pineapple juice (unsweetened)
1 ounce freshly squeezed orange juice
1 teaspoon maple syrup (grade A)
1 dash Angostura bitters
Lime wedge, orange slice, and maraschino cherry, for garnish
Shake all the ingredients in an ice-filled cocktail shaker and strain into a tall glass. Garnish with the lime wedge, orange slice, and cherry.
PIÑA COLADA
Like the so-called modern martini, the piña colada is well suited to creative adaptation—Robert Plotkin’s Caribe Rum lists thirty variations. This is a fairly straightforward version.
1½ ounces light rum
1 ounce dark rum
2 ounces Coco Lopez or other coconut cream (not coconut milk)
4 ounces pineapple juice
Pineapple slice, orange slice, and/or maraschino cherry, for garnish
Blend all the ingredients with ¾ cup crushed ice in a blender for 10 to 15 seconds. Pour into a tall glass and garnish with the pineapple slice, orange slice, and/or cherry.
PARISIAN BLONDE
An orange-flavored afterdinner drink in the 1980s style.
1 ounce rum
1 ounce triple sec
1 ounce heavy cream
Shake all the ingredients in an ice-filled cocktail shaker and strain into a tall glass. Craft cocktail revivalist and author Dale DeGroff suggests garnishing with a drop or two of vanilla extract for added flavor.
MEXICAN BLONDE
The Parisian Blonde meets the White Russian, by Dale DeGroff.
1½ ounces light rum
½ ounce coffee liqueur
½ ounce Curaçao
1 ounce heavy cream
Shake all the ingredients in an ice-filled cocktail shaker and strain into a cocktail glass.
CAIPIRINHA
Made with cachaça, a rough-edged Brazilian sugarcane liquor once relatively rare but increasingly easy to find in the United States.
½ lime, cut into quarters
¾ ounce sugarcane syrup
2 ounces cachaça
Muddle the lime and syrup in an old-fashioned glass, then add the cachaça and ice and stir.
MOJITO
4 to 6 mint leaves
½ ounce simple syrup
¾ ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
2 ounces light rum (unaged is traditional; aged adds a bit of depth)
Club soda
Mint sprig, for garnish
Lightly muddle the mint leaves, simple syrup, and lime juice in the bottom of a Collins glass. Add the rum and ice, then top with club soda. Stir until well mixed and garnish with the mint sprig.
THE LYTTON FIZZ
Created for a rum competition in 2005 by bartender and cocktail sleuth John Myers. It’s a great mix of classic and modern tastes.
4 fresh mint leaves
3 Thai basil leaves
½ ounce falernum
¼ ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
2 dashes Angostura bitters
1½ ounces dark rum (Cruzan Black Strap recommended)
Ginger ale
Muddle the first five ingredients in a Collins glass. Add ice and rum, top off with ginger ale, and stir.
[ Acknowledgments ]
The search for rum’s frequent if unheralded appearances through four centuries of North American history often felt like trolling in a very large sea containing very few fish. I’m thankful to those who happened upon information and passed it along to me, including Howard Mansfield, Kate Pocock, Will Foshag, and John Myers. Many took the time to share their love and knowledge of rum history, rum production, and cocktail culture with me, including Michael Delevante, Keith Laurie, Dennis Tosten, Luis and Margaret Ayala, Pat Davidson, Tim Forsythe, Stephen Remsberg, Edward Hamilton, Jeff Berry, Robert Hess, and Ted “Dr. Cocktail” Haigh. All errors, omissions, and misinterpretations of what actually occurred are, naturally, my own.
My thanks to the patient folks at various research institutions and libraries, including but not limited to the Bowdoin College Library, the New York Public Library, the New York Historical Society, the Barbados Museum, and the University of the West Indies. Barbara Cook was a great help at the Johnson and Wales University’s Culinary Archives, as were Priscilla Webster and all the others at the Peaks Island branch of the Portland Public Library, which is all-too accommodating in fielding interlibrary loan requests.
Several authors and historians have, unbeknownst to them, served as guideposts directing me down paths I might not otherwise have noticed. I’d like to especially thank David W. Conroy for his work on taverns in the eighteenth century, John J. McCusker for his excruciating research on rum’s importance in the American revolution, Sidney Mintz for his pioneering work on the rise of the sugar industry, Andrew Jackson O’Shaughnessy for his explication of the relationship between the mainland colonies and the West Indies before and during the American Revolution, and James Pack for his detailed chronicle of rum in the Royal Navy of England.
Thanks also to Jennifer Gates of Zachary Shuster Harmsworth for finding this idea a home, and to Rachel Klayman at Crown for helping me say what I wanted to say, only better. Finally, thanks to my wife, Louise, for being so indulgent, and for sampling all those cocktails that weren’t quite yet ready for public debut.
For reasons too obvious to explain, I may have forgotten to mention others who have aided in this project. I apologize, and I owe you a drink.
[ Bibliography ]
ACRELIUS, ISRAEL. A History of New Sweden; or, The Settlements on the River Delaware. Translated from Swedish and notes by William M. Reynolds. Philadelphia: Publication Fund of the Historical Society of Penn
sylvania, 1874.
ADE, GEORGE. The Old Time Saloon: The Not Wet–Not Dry Just History. New York: Ray Long & Richard R. Smith, 1931.
ANDREWS, KENNETH R., ed. English Privateering Voyages to the West Indies, 1588–1595. Cambridge, U.K.: published for the Hakluyt Society at the University Press, 1959.
BAKER, CARLOS. Ernest Hemingway: A Life Story. New York: Charles Scriber’s Sons, 1969.
BAKER, CHARLES. The Gentleman’s Companion, Being an Exotic Drinking Book, or Around the World with Jigger, Beaker, and Flask. New York: Crown, 1946 (reprint).
BARON, STANLEY. Brewed in America: A History of Beer and Ale in the United States. Boston: Little, Brown, 1962.
BARR, ANDREW. Drink: A Social History of America. New York: Carrol & Graf, 1999.
BARROW, THOMAS C. Trade and Empire: The British Customs Service in Colonial America, 1660–1775. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1967.
BARTY-KING, HUGH, AND ANTON MASSEL. Rum: Yesterday and Today. London: Heinemann, 1983.