Sometimes I play with old ideas in an attempt to come up with something fresh. In this case the old idea is from a the 1937 publication, Cafe Royal Cocktail Book, Coronation Edition, compiled by W.J. Tarling. I introduced a cocktail from this book in my review of Appleton Estate Reserve Rum and the cocktail is called The Celebration. 

The idea of mixing gin and rum was new to me, but obviously it has a tradition back at least 80 years.  So I thought I would experiment with the idea and tweak it to make a nice sweetish cocktail (not Swedish but sweetish).   My idea was to come up with a more feminine cocktail that I could bring out to wow my friends.  My first change was to adjust the fruit juice slightly adding just a bit of pineapple juice and decreasing the grapefruit juice.   Not anything remarkable there, just a slight change in flavour profile. Then I reduced the ratio of rum to gin somewhat.  Finally I unabashedly used grenadine as a substitute for groseille syrup.  Each change made the drink progressively sweeter. At this point I cut the quantity of Grenadine to one half of the amount of Groseille syrup, and used a lemon wheel garnish garnish to act as a counter punch to the sweetness.  I think it turned out very nicely.

a cocktail by Chip Dykstra (Aka Arctic Wolf)

2 oz  White Rum (El Dorado 3 yr white is nice)
1 to 2 oz  Pink Grapefruit juice
1/2 to 1/12oz  Pineapple juice
3/4 Ounce Tangueray # 10 Gin
1/2 ounce Grenadine

Shake with ice
Strain into a small rocks glass
Garnish with Lemon Wheel on an Axle


 

If you like, dip the lemon wheel in the cocktail as you drink it.

Enjoy!

And always remember the aim is not to drink more it is to drink better!