The smoke also rises

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.

Oh Gosh!

I was on a little roll of Bacardi cocktails for a little while, and this was definitely one that I will be making again.  

Perfectly entitled, because my first mouthful really did make me want to exclaim ‘Oh!’ It reminded me of a Bacardi leaning Lemon Drop Martini, but subtly different of course, as it features limes, not lemons.  

I’m not going to go on about it – let’s just get it on shall we?

To your shaker full of ice, add:

1 ½ oz white rum

1 oz triple sec

½ oz lime juice

¼ oz simple syrup 

Shake it all really hard, then strain to enjoy.  Then you might want to make yourself a Lemon Drop Martini so you can compare the two.  I think you’ll enjoy them both.  

Marshmallow martini

This is a cocktail that I ummed and aahed about for a while.  I kind of liked the sound of it, but was put off more than a little because it looked like a Pornstar Martini, which is not in my favourites list.  But I kept coming back to it so I thought I’d just give it a go.  

It was at the end of a heavy week, so I made a VERY large portion, and then actually surprised myself by wishing I’d made more.  I decided against the optional shot of prosecco, but of course you can decide that for your self.  

Lets start by gathering your ingredients:

2oz vanilla vodka

1oz passion fruit puree

¼ oz vanilla syrup

½ fresh passion fruit

Prosecco as a shot on the side.

Shake everything but the prosecco hard over ice and strain into a lovely martini glass.  Serve with a shot of prosecco on the side.  Or perhaps tip your shot of prosecco into your glass and enjoy them both together?  The choice is yours…

Rumbullion 75

Like most classic cocktails, a French 75 can carry a substitution or two that turns it into something totally different.  I’ve explored a fair few alternatives like in this French 1605 version, and I might suggest a great use of a spring or summers afternoon would be to gather a big old ice bucket, a chilled bottle of fizz and whatever assorted bottles of booze you have to hand and work out which your favourite might be.  

This version isn’t a recognised one, but simply an experimentation with a new bottle of rum with chilli and chocolate, so you could do the same.  The only thing to bear in mind, is if you’re not sure if your substitutions are going to work, just make the one and share it, before deciding to make another.  And perhaps another if it works that well.  

This Chilli & Chocolate Rum didn’t taste too bad on its own, but if I’m honest, I’m not a lover of drinks being overly spicy, so thought the addition of a bit of vanilla, and some fizz would never be a bad thing.  And I was spot on.  I’m not sure enough to make this my go-to 75 version, but it certainly wasn’t bad at all. 

Gather your ingredients:

1oz Rumbullion

½ oz vanilla syrup

½ oz lemon juice

Prosecco to top

As you’d expect with a French 75, you’ll want to shake the rum, lemon and syrup hard over big handfuls of ice and strain into a champagne flute before topping with your fizz.  And then taste before you decide if you’re gonna make another, and perhaps another.  

Daiquiri Frappe

I love a Daiquiri.  I love its simplicity.  Its clean taste.  Three ingredients.  Easy peasy.  And there are a million ways you can pimp your Daiquiri to suit your mood: A straight forward Daiquiri for the clean, classic lines, a Papa Doble if you fancy something a little fruitier, or a Luxardo Sparkling Hemingway if you fancied it with a little fizz.  

One of the simplest ways to pimp your Daiquiri is just to serve it over crushed ice as a Frappe like we have here.  You’ll need the basics in your shaker full of ice:

50 ml white rum, preferably a Bacardi

15ml lime juice

10 ml simple syrup

Shake it really hard over your ice cubes, and then strain into a glass full of fresh crushed or shaved ice.  It really is that simple.  The crushed ice obviously helps keep the chill in the daiquiri as long as possible, but be warned though: take too long to drink it and by the end you’ll have a glass full of watered down, weak meh, and you don’t want that.  Trust me.

Carnaghino

I can’t imagine there are many of you that will have pistachio liqueur at home, but if you do, you could be mighty glad to discover this.  

Created by Gabriele Carnaghi at the Sky Bar in Birmingham in 2015, this feels like quite a modern cocktail, until I remember that 2015 is already 8 years ago.  Yes, I know.  I’m sure that would technically still count as modern, but hey, it is what it is.  Let’s think about the cocktail.  

I have to admit to being surprised at how chocolatey this was with only ½ oz chocolate in each glass.  I did use cream liqueurs for the chocolate and pistachio instead of a straight liqueur, but that shouldn’t impact too much on the taste: more the mouthfeel. And if I’m honest, I was quite disappointed with the pistachio liqueur.  I wouldn’t have known it was pistachio by taste alone: disappointing.  But anyway, cream liqueurs are what I had, so cream liqueurs are what I used.  You can use whichever ones you have at home and let me know what you think.  

For the true Carnaghino it suggests you stir these ingredients over ice:

1 ½ oz cognac

½ oz dark chocolate liqueur

½ oz pistachio liqueur

And then strain into a rocks glass with an ice block or sphere in.  

I don’t want you to think I was disappointed in my results here, I thought it was lovely, but couldn’t help wishing there was a little more pistachio-ness about it.  It really was a fabulous alternative to an easter egg so definitely worth a try!

Burlington Martini

Well Oh My Goodness!  When a cocktail introduces itself and you just can’t get enough of it, then you just have to go with it.  And when that cocktail includes a good couple of your 5 a day, then you know it makes sense.  And this Burlington Martini is exactly that cocktail.  

So go buy yourself a cucumber: yes, I know it isn’t exactly cucumber season, but it will be worth it.  Dice up a couple of inches of it and add it to your shaker.  Give it a good old bash but add all of these ingredients:

1 ½ oz vodka

1/3 oz simple syrup

½ oz lime juice

4 mint leaves

Give it a good old shake and THEN add a big old handful of ice and shake again before perhaps double straining into a martini glass to enjoy!

Green Stinger

So, you know sometimes a cocktail has a story?  Or brings back a memory?  This.  

Many, many moons ago, in fact in the early 90’s, I used to drink in the Squash Club in Crosby.  It was a really small club, but most of us had no intention of playing squash – we just loved the bar!  There was Barry, who held court there most evenings at the weekend.  He just wanted to make sure you had a drink and was happy to buy you one.  

And you could always tell who was a relative newbie to this routine because they’d be drinking a Green Bomber.  It was lethal.  You didn’t need more than one, and you certainly didn’t want it after you were a couple of drinks in.  Of course, there was the occasional visit where you only had time for one, and then, a Green Bomber was absolutely the one to have, Barry in the chair or not.  

But even back in the day, the ingredients list was a closely guarded secret.  It was in a Collins glass over ice, and of course it was green.  Very green so was the strong mint flavour you’d expect.  I do seem to remember it having a chocolate back flavour to it, kind of like a liquid After Eight mint.  And I’m fairly sure it was built over a big slosh of vodka.  I think it may have been topped with lemo, but was that it?  

If it contained anything else I don’t think I’ll ever know.  Searching for Green Bomber these days brings up bomber jackets in various shades of green but not a single cocktail.   

So, there you are.  That story, and plenty more I didn’t feel able to include, is exactly where this cocktail took me.  I’ll carry on smiling to myself about those stories but in the meantime, you can make your own and perhaps start creating your own memories while you make your own Green Stinger.  

Fill your shaker full of ice and add:

2oz vodka

½ oz green crème de menthe

½ oz white crème de cacao

Shake it really hard over ice and strain over a big old chunk or sphere of ice to keep it cool without watering it down any more. 

Envy Smith

Shall I tell you what I know about this Envy Smith?  Not a lot if I’m honest.  It has 2.4 units of alcohol and 221 calories like we care.  But it was created in 2018 by Shirmy Chan in Kuala Lumpur for a competition and most importantly of all, it is blinking lovely!

It is apple with mint which just feels all kinds of wrong, but it works, so go with it.  

Fill your shaker full of ice and add:

1 ½ oz dry gin

2/3 oz white crème de menthe

½ oz apple syrup

1 oz apple juice

Egg white or cocktail foamer

Shirmy says you should shake it hard over ice, strain, then ‘dry shake’ without the ice, before straining one more time into an old fashioned glass full of ice.  

You’ll know by now that I wasn’t ever gonna do that, so I just shook it once, hard, over ice, then strained it into a lovely glass to serve.  I’m not sure I needed more ice, but you can decide which way you’d prefer it, but promise me you’ll let me know yeah?  

Gem

This cocktail came to me after I had been struggling with the most horrid sciatic episode I’ve ever known, and never want to visit again.  It had been weeks since I was able to sit down.  The doc had increased my drugs to the max to no avail.  The new drugs needed time (weeks!) to kick in.  I was still having to lie down on the back seat of Mr CQs car so that I could get a deep tissue massage and acupuncture.  And I’d bought myself a TENS machine which, combined with the massage/acupuncture was finally seeing some impact.  

Finally.  

And I noted that as I was enjoying this cocktail, I was actually able to perch on the very edge of a bar stool that almost felt like sitting down.  

Almost.  

And that teeny tiny miniscule improvement was enough for me to see that there might be light at the end of the tunnel.  And it meant that I enjoyed this Gem SO much more because of it.  

I’d started out to decide on this evening’s cocktail determined to go for something with pineapple and rum, which would be a guaranteed winner.  Throw in some cognac and a lime or two, then a glass full of deliciousness is on the way.  

Let me help you make one!  You’ll obviously want to fill your shaker with ice and add:

1oz reserve rum

1oz cognac

¾ oz lime juice

½ oz pineapple syrup

4 drops daiquiri bitters if you have them

Shake it all really hard over ice and strain to enjoy.  I finished mine off with a dehydrated slice of lime that just brought that scent of lime to your nose every single time which was lovely.