Happy Tuesday! And we choose to celebrate this auspicious day with something new, the “Monthly” cocktail feature. It was weekly, but we were having a hard time keeping up. So “Monthly” it is…

In any event, is there any better flavor combination in cocktails than rum, lime and sugar? So simple, so perfect and yet so flexible. The basic daiquiri is still a classic and one of our “go-to” drinks in any season. But like most classics, one you fully embrace the basic structure, one starts to riff and experiment. And with rum, probably more than any other spirit, the possibilities are endless.

Rum has more varieties than almost any other spirit. Molasses vs. cane juice, pot vs. column still, country of origin, aging, blending and filtration all come into play. And in the end, every nation, every island, every distiller has it’s own distinct flavor. And unlike whiskies, the range is incredibly broad. Scotch and Bourbon have many flavor profiles, but you know exactly what they are. Meanwhile there are rhum agricoles and cachacas that taste grassy like tequila, white rums so light in flavor that they are closer to vodka, aged rums that sip like whiskey and dark / black rums that are something else altogether….and that is where we have been playing lately.

While it may have a questionable reputation, (a few too many Meyers ‘n Pineapples in your youth can leave a mark) dark rum is nothing to be afraid of. In fact, the flavors range as widely as rum overall. Most dark rums will have bittersweet molasses core, but they also feature spice, vanilla, funk, chocolate, coffee and even maple syrup notes. And these are all flavors that make for tasty, complex and sometimes memorable cocktails.

We often wax poetic about Appleton 12-year-old, our favorite rum, and one that may be called “dark”. But recently we started playing with something cheaper and a lot funkier, Cruzan Blackstrap rum. And this is fun stuff to play with. The Cruzan has all the dark molasses flavors along with notes of spice and maple, and with a lighter mouthfeel than you might expect. And at under 20 bucks a bottle, a real deal.

So what did we do with the stuff? Experiment, of course. But after a while we made our own creation, the Midnight Daiquiri. The Midnight Daiquiri uses Cruzan Blackstrap rum (you could sub Gosling’s or Meyer’s), lime juice, falernum syrup, coffee liqueur and bitters. The sip starts with a bittersweet molasses nose and then a sweet, spicy “rum, lime and coke” flavor that ends with a slightly bitter note that cleans the palate. A very easy sipper, more refreshing than you might think and certainly worth a try.

The inspiration for the Midnight Daiquiri comes from a few excellent cocktails. The falernum (spiced lime syrup) and dark rum are from the Corn ‘n Oil, the coffee liqueur from the Port Antonio and the extra bitter notes from Comal’s Black Daiquiri. In each cocktail the common thread is to embrace the flavors of the dark rum, and not hide them. And in the Midnight Daiquiri you get the full spectrum, spice, coffee, maple and, of course, molasses, all playing well together.

So the next time you see that bottle of dark rum gathering dust on you shelf, take it down, pull out some limes and get to work. You never know what you might find…

The Midnight Daiquiri:

Ingredients:

• 2 oz. black or dark rum (Cruzan Blackstrap)
• 1 oz. fresh lime juice
• 3/4 oz. falernum syrup (you can sub Velvet Falernum in a pinch)
• 1/4 oz. coffee liqueur
• 3 dashes Angostura bitters
• 2 dashes Bittermens Tiki bitters (optional, but good)
• Lime wheel, for garnish

Assemble:

1. Combine the liquid ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until well-chilled. Strain into a chilled coupé or cocktail glass. Garnish with the lime wedge and serve. You can also serve this cocktail on the rocks in a lowball glass.