Boozehound - Jason Wilson [82]
I told Guillaume my story about Haiti as we were tasting his family’s very rare and expensive apple brandy. I told him I’d always felt very conflicted about that trip: about how I’d wanted to help, at the very least by bearing witness, but how in the end I’d just been a ham-handed visitor. “I felt the same way,” Guillaume said, who said it was extremely awkward to be the boss, as a blanc from the former colonizer. “After I came back to France, I was depressed. I left there and returned to my comfortable life. But how was I supposed to forget about what I’d seen in Haiti?”
I’d never met many people who’d been to Haiti, and it helped Guillaume and me strike up a rapport right away. That and the fact that his family’s Calvados was one of the most sublime spirits I’d ever tasted. “You should come visit us in France sometime,” Guillaume said. A few years later, I did.
A Round of Drinks:
Yo Ho Ho
A rum and tonic or a Dark and Stormy (rum, ginger beer, and a squeeze of lime) are the usual ways I enjoy rum in a drink. Another easy rum cocktail idea is Martinique’s traditional Ti’ Punch (short for petit punch, or “little punch”): drizzle a bar spoon full of cane syrup into an old-fashioned glass, cut a small disk from the side of a lime and squeeze it into the glass, add one and a half ounces of rhum agricole and a chunk of ice, and serve. (And watch out for the little punch it packs.)
I’ve taken to using unaged rhum agricole from Neisson or Rhum Clément as my go-to white rum because of the wild, vegetal layers of flavor it adds to cocktails. As the rhum ages in oak casks, the grassy, funky qualities are tamed a little, creating a spirit that approaches the depth and complexity of a fine cognac. For everyday drinking, smooth and mellow Rhum Clément VSOP is the gold standard, at about thirty-five dollars a bottle. La Favorite Ambré, Neisson, and J.M.’s VSOP are excellent choices in the same price range. For those who are looking for a real splurge, I highly recommend the Rhum J.M. Vieux 1997 vintage. Even at around one hundred dollars, it is still an unbelievable value. With its explosion of aromas and tastes—nutty, herbal, chocolaty, slightly fruity—it is one of the finest spirits I’ve tasted on the spirits beat.
PAPA DOBLE
Serves 1
2 ounces rhum agricole
½ ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
½ ounce freshly squeezed grapefruit juice
¼ ounce maraschino liqueur
Fill a cocktail shaker halfway with ice. Add the rum, juices, and maraschino liqueur. Shake well for at least 60 seconds, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass or an ice-filled old-fashioned glass.
MACUA
Serves 1
Named after a tropical bird native to Central America, the Macua was declared the national drink of Nicaragua in late 2006, after a countrywide competition that took place during the heat of that year’s ugly presidential campaign. This long drink is light, tart, and only a bit sweet: the perfect drink for a warm afternoon. Goya’s guava juice is good to use, though guava nectar from Jumex is acceptable (the drink will be yellow instead of pink). Though white rum works best, an aged rum is also nice.
2 ounces rum
2 ounces guava juice
1 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
¼ ounce simple syrup
Orange slice, for garnish
Fill a cocktail shaker halfway with ice. Add the rum, guava juice, lemon juice, and simple syrup. Shake well for at least 30 seconds, then strain into an ice-filled highball or Collins glass. Garnish with the orange slice.
EL PRESIDENTE
Serves 1
Popular in Havana during the 1920s and 1930s, the Presidente cocktail reportedly was offered to President Calvin Coolidge by then Cuban President Gerardo Machado. Coolidge, mindful of Prohibition back home, declined the drink. You should not. It has more in common with a martini or Manhattan than with standard tropical rum