Quite some time ago I bought myself a bottle of Rabarbaro liqueur, which is a rhubarb root liqueur. It is dark, bitter, and quite grown up, but I do like it. And then I set about exploring which cocktails it would work in, and started out with a couple from their website: a twist on a Margarita called the ZuccaRita which I didn’t love, and then a Zucca Sour, which I did love. But of course, I wanted more, and then realised it might work really well as a substitute for a Rosso and so tried it in a Negroni, which I actually preferred to the Sour.
And then, as you do, I got another shiny new bottle to experiment with, the bottle got pushed to the back of the cupboard and I forgot all about it. For quite some time. Until, then I spotted this recipe for The Smoke Also Rises, which features Rabarbaro, and I got quite excited, even though it is only a tiny amount.
But even though it is only a tiny amount, you can taste it in there, which of course is the point. It’s not particularly smoky, so I have no idea why it earned this title. It is however quite lovely, so if, on a million to one chance, you have a bottle of Rabarbaro in your cupboard, you should definitely give it a whirl. If, unsurprisingly, you don’t have the Rabarbaro, you could substitute a heavy Rosso in it’s place. I guess a Martini Rosso would still work, but you’d want something a little less sweet if you have a choice.
Anyway, whatever your ingredient availability, this is how to get it on.
Fill yourself a shaker full of ice and add:
60 ml white rum
15 ml Rabarbaro (or your rosso)
15 ml pink grapefruit juice
15 ml lime juice
7.5 ml maraschino liqueur
5 ml Simple syrup
Give it all a damn hard shake, and then dress it with a maraschino cherry or two, before enjoying.