Jonathan Ray gets his head around how to create the perfect rum cocktail.
I’ve lost count of the number of different rum cocktails I’ve had over the last few days hopping round the islands of the Caribbean. Each cocktail consumed purely in the interests of research of course. I’ve had some classics; some twists on classics and several ‘signature’ or ‘house’ cocktails. Oh, and plenty of rum punches.
I’d hate you to think that I’d been sitting idly by however and so I’m proud to report that one or two of the more tolerant barmen allowed me to create my own cocktails, some concoctions being rather more successful than others. (My dark rum, spiced rum, cranberry juice, lime juice and Angostura bitters really didn’t cut it at all; all grind no pepper. I still drank it though.)
Of the cocktails that I can blearily remember, stand-outs in Barbados include the fabulous rum Negroni (one third each of Mount Gay Eclipse Rum, Campari and Cinzano Rosso served over ice with a slice of orange) I had at the Tamarind Hotel and the thirst-quenching Ragged Point (Mount Gay Black Barrel Rum, apple juice, fresh ginger, lime juice and simple syrup) and the long and refreshing 1887 (Mount Gay Eclipse Rum, raspberry liqueur, strawberry purée, cranberry juice, sugar, basil and black pepper) I had at The Crane.
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