Congratulations to neptune@dmv.social on the win for April, and to the closest challenger and most active participant BigGovernment[@lemmy.world.
For May, the challenge is a less sweet rum drink. Roll out the barrel, pirates!
The rules are even fewer than before, not requiring pictures since that’s not working for everyone but a picture may get you more votes.
The drink must be original (as far as you can tell with a quick online search). Can be wholly original or a variation on a standard. A complete recipe and your impressions - what does it taste like? Winner is the most upvoted, downvotes are discarded.
Winner of the May contest can have glory unending, and can pick the theme for July.
This is a tough one. I tried subbing rum into a perfect Manhattan and didn’t care for it. I make a tiki old fashioned that’s been a big hit and it’s not too sweet, but it’s definitely not dry. That’s still the best “dry” rum cocktail in my repertoire, so I stuck with the old fashioned format and worked on a different variation. Here’s a rum/coffee old fashioned.
1.5 oz Plantation 5-year, 0.5 oz Wray and Nephew 151 0.75 oz Perc, 2 dashes Angostura bitters. Serve on ice with a wide orange peel.
Smells of coffee, alcohol, and orange. Tastes of a strong earthy coffee sweetened with molasses. A little bit of banana, and a little bit of warming spice. Not too bitter and not too sweet.
Notes and other thoughts: There’s probably a better rum or rum blend. Also, the 1/2 ounce Wray and Nephew is an estimate. I tried it with just Plantation and thought it needed more punch, so I put in a splash of the 151 and it helped. It’s probably less than that amount. Perc is a regional coffee liquor, I don’t know if it’s available outside of New England. Kahlua would not make an acceptable substitute, but I think Mr. Black would. The orange peel isn’t a great garnish for this. It doesn’t mesh well with the other flavors. Not sure what would be.
Cinnamon stick maybe?
That’s a good idea. Or maybe a fresh chili pepper and sub in mole bitters? I wasn’t planning on working any more on this, but maybe I’ll try play around with it this weekend.
I got two suggestions from another site, including them here, not as entries but for anyone looking for a suggestion. The consensus on that cooking community was Barbancourt Haitian rum, on its own, is not sweet and is good enough to just sip. Their suggestions were:
Barbancourt rum with ginger juice and bitters.
Barbancourt martini with dry vermouth.