This time I am not talking about the Chicago based cocktail bar, which is great by the way. With this cocktail I am moving into more typical tiki cocktails. I will not go into more details regarding its heritage than it was originally made by Don the beachcomber. I have used the Smugglers Cove book by Martin Cate as inspiration, as well as looking at other sources. I have deviated a bit from the methods in the book and in recipes online, though there are recipes different from min using the same method. For me, adapting recipes and methods is something you do out of necessity or if you have a preference for something particular. This time it was a bit of both, firstly I don’t have a blender in my kitchen, secondly, I have never been very keen on blended cocktails.

For me one of the appeals with this cocktail is that it uses ingredients that are new to me, three of them. The first one being Agricole Rhum, a style of rum made on Martinique. This style differs from most types of rum like Bacardi, Havana Club etc, because it is made from the sugar in the sugar canes rather than the molasses that is used for most other rums. It is a bit sweeter and more vegetal as it tastes more of the sugar canes. The second ingredient is an allspice liqueur, which basically is what it sounds like, a sweetened spirit favoured with allspice berries. There are usually two names for this when you buy them allspice dram or pimento dram. Personally, I am not sure if there is a difference or not. The third new ingredient for me is the velvet falernum, which is a liqueur made by different fruits and spices and has a flavour of the Caribbean and tiki. I genuinely don’t know how to describe it as the version I have is very nicely balanced and rounded.

The cocktail it really balanced and has a nice combination of fruit and pices. As a cocktail with orange juice it is not dominated by the organge juice the way cocktails with orange juice normally are. If I was to say that there is one flavour that cuts through, then I would cautiously say that it’s the Rhum Agricole. Spicy, fruity and slightly grassy this cocktail is well balanced, and I would highly recommend it.

My Recipe:

• 1.5 oz (4.5 cl) Rhum Agricole
• 0.5 oz (1.5 cl) Aged Rum
• 0.25 oz (0.75 cl) Pimento Dram
• 0.25 oz (0.75 cl) Velvet Falernum
• 0.5 oz (1.5 cl) Lime Juice
• 0.5 oz (1.5 cl) Orange Juice
• 0.5 oz (1.5 cl) Honey Syrup
• 1 dash of Angostura Bitters

Add the ingredients to a shaker with crushed Ice. Shake to chill and dilute. Pour the cocktail with the ice into a highball glass. Garnish with an orange wheel.