Warm Weather Spirits
Oro or "gold" is unaged or "abogado" (adulterated) tequila with caramel, fructose, glycerin and/or wood flavoring to resemble aged tequila. Think Jose Cuervo Gold, this is one of the best for making frozen margaritas.
Blanco ("white") or Plata ("silver") tequilas are unaged. Unlike other spirits, blancos do not taste raw and harsh. Instead, blanco tequila embodies the greatest pure flavor of the agave plant. The flavors are crisp, sharp, peppery, and slightly sweet with an herbal quality.
Reposado or "rested" tequilas represent the next level of aging. These tequilas are aged for a minimum of sixty days and for as long as a year. Most are aged between two and nine months. Aging the tequila subdues some of the peppery and herbal notes while preserving the basic flavor profile. The wood adds vanilla, spice, cedar and smoke flavors. In general, the aging process makes tequila smoother and darker in color. Resposado tequilas are great for sipping, shooting, and mixing. We love Corzo Reposado with 1 year of oak aging and its smooth oak and honey flavors. (About $53)
Añejo or "aged" tequila. If tequila is aged longer than a reposado, then it is called an añejo, or "old", tequila. These tequilas are aged for at least a year with many aged up to three years or longer. The extra time in the wood smoothes out the tequila even more and subdues much of the peppery and herbal nature of the spirit. Nearly all añejos are aged in used bourbon barrels to add a cherry fruitiness to the taste profile. Aged tequilas are best sipped like
single barrel bourbons and cognac. The perennial favorite añejo is Patron Añejo. (About $55)
Okay those are the basics. How about trying a fun twist on the classic margarita? We have a version of the Margarita that combines the refreshing flavor of the margarita with the cachet of a martini.
Margarita Martini
1-1/2 oz Siembra Azul Blanco or Corzo Resposado tequila
1/2 oz Cointreau or Grand Marnier
1/2 oz freshly squeezed lime juice
Simple syrup (sugar dissolved into water) to taste
Fill a cocktail shaker or a large glass with ice. Add all ingredients and shake. Strain into chilled martini glass. Garnish with a lime or candied lime.
For a unique twist, you may wish to lightly salt the rim of your glass. To do so, before chilling the glass, dip the rim into a saucer filled with lime juice, then into another filled with salt. Some suggest adding sugar to the salt, for a bizarre but intriguing twist.
Often summer at the shore makes everyone want something more tropical. When that happens it's time to pull out the limbo stick and the rum! Everyone knows rum and coca cola, and that daiquiris are refreshing, but a tad old fashioned for this summer. Think about it, the original daiquiri was just rum, sugar, limes and ice; the fruity frozen daiquiri didn't become popular until the advent of the home blender in the 1950s. Mojitos are all popular, but there is so much more fun to be had!
Rum is made from sugarcane, molasses and/or sugarcane juice. It's usually aged in oak and other barrels. The majority of rum production occurs in and around the Caribbean though there are rum producers elsewhere around the world. Rum has had a long and colorful history. One of my favorite stories involving rum concerns the British Royal Navy and Admiral Horatio Nelson's victory at the Battle of Trafalgar. Nelson died late in the battle and his body was preserved in a cask of rum to allow transport back to England. Upon arrival, however, the cask was opened and found to contain no rum. Nelson's pickled body was removed and, upon inspection, it was discovered that the sailors had drilled a hole in the bottom of the cask and surreptitiously drank all the rum, in the process drinking Nelson's blood. Thus the terms Nelson's Blood and "Tapping the Admiral" being used in reference to rum and to describe drinking the daily rum ration.
Rum, like tequila, is produced in a variety of styles. Light rums are commonly used in cocktails, while golden and dark rums are appropriate for use in cooking as well as cocktails. Premium brands of rum are made to be consumed neat or on the rocks. Light Rum is often referred to as light, silver, and white rums. In general, light rum has very little flavor aside from a general sweetness, and serves as a base for cocktails. Light rums are sometimes filtered after aging to remove any color. A summer favorite here is Bacardi Silver (About $15).
Gold Rums, also called amber rums, are medium-bodied rums which are generally aged. These gain their dark color from aging in wooden barrels (often the charred white oak barrels that once housed Bourbon Whiskey). A good one to try is Tommy Bahama Golden Sun (About $28).
Spiced rums obtain their flavor through addition of spices and sometimes, caramel. Most are darker in color, and is based on gold rums. Everyone knows the Captain and we heartily recommend Captain Morgan Spiced Rum. ($19)
Dark Rum, or black rum is darker than gold rum. It is generally aged longer, in heavily charred barrels. Dark rum has a much stronger flavor than either light or gold rum, and spice nuances can be detected, along with a strong molasses or caramel overtone. It provides color and substance in rum drinks. Dark rum is the type of rum most commonly used in cooking. We recommend Myers Dark Jamaican Rum ($22).
Flavored rums have been infused with flavors of fruits such as mango, orange, citrus, coconut, and lime. Our most popular flavored rum is Malibu. Malibu Rum is a rum made in Barbados with natural coconut extract. Although the drink is made in Barbados, it is bottled in Dumbarton, Scotland by Pernod Ricard. Malibu comes in a wide variety of flavors: Mango, Passion Fruit, Pineapple Rum and Banana. Malibu and its variations can be drunk neat, on the rocks, or more commonly, with a fruit-based mixer or a carbonated soft drink such as Coca Cola or Pub Squash, in which case the drink is renamed Jamaican Lemonade. Although the bottle for the coconut-flavored rum is opaque white, the drink is colorless and slightly more viscous than regular rum.
Now that we know some of the technical aspects, what can we do with rum? Well, the Mojito is still very popular. In fact it was a huge summer craze, so why not step it up with a bit more sophistication and make it into a Martini?
The Mojito Martini
2 ounces of 10 Cane Rum
Juice of 1⁄2 lime
1 tsp. Sugar
Fresh mint
Splash Soda Water
Muddle the sugar, lime juice and mint together. Add ice and rum. Shake and strain into a chilled Martini Glass. Top with splash soda water and garnish with mint sprig.
If you are still in a Martini mood, we can offer a rum-based lemon concoction that is truly refreshing.
The Lemon Drop Martini
1-1⁄2 oz. Bacardi Limon Rum
1⁄2 oz. Citronella Lemon Liqueur or Limoncello
Juice of lemon wedge
Shake and strain into a Chilled Martini Glass
After a hard day of sun, sand and surf you may want to try a Long Beach Island Sunset while you watch the sun go down. Not only is this drink delicious, it's pretty too.
Long Beach Island Sunset
1 oz. Malibu
1⁄1⁄2 oz. Blue Curacao
2 oz. Pineapple Juice
Blend and just before pouring into glass, line glass with Grenadine to give red streaks and the illusion of a sunset. Pick a cherry to a pineapple wedge for garnish and relax.
These little drinks will have you sittin' in the porch swing with your feet up watching the sun go down.
Sundowner Coffee
1 oz. Kahlua
1-1/2 Patron XO Coffee
3 oz. Cold Coffee
1/2 oz. heavy cream
Blend. Pour into a frosted glass or coffee mug. Top with whipped cream and an After Eight Dinner mint wafer.
Peach Beach Fizz
1 oz. Peach Schnapps
1⁄2 oz. Southern Comfort
1 oz. Orange Juice
1⁄2 oz. Fresh Peach Puree
Shake and strain.
Top with 7-up.
Pour into a fizz glass or water glass and top with a peach slice garnish.
By now, all beer drinkers must be feeling left out. Yes, we all know that nothing beats a cold beer on a hot day. So we came up with a specialty drink for beer lovers, the Michelada. As counterintuitive as it may seem to add salt, hot sauce and Worcestershire to your beer, versions of this drink are popular all over Mexico. The salt sharpens the flavor; the lime brightens it; and the hot sauce and Worcestershire spice it up, making it a natural for barbecues, tacos or just hot days.
Michelada
1 lime, cut into quarters
Kosher salt
2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
3/4 teaspoon Loisiana Red Hot sauce
1 cup Modelo Especial or other Mexican pilsner-style beer
Ice
Rim the outside of a tall, chilled pint glass with 1 quarter of the lime. Pour salt on a plate. Press the rim of a glass into the salt to rim the edge. Squeeze the rest of the limes into the glass. Drop the limes in the glass. Add the Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce. Fill glass with ice, add beer, and stir.
Note: The salt cuts back on the beer's carbonation, so your beer won't develop much of a head.
There you have it a complete wardrobe of fun, refreshing and thoroughly modern mixed drinks inspired by fond memories of the classic summer cocktails. Enjoy!
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