Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Local libation: The Hemingway daiquiri at Smugglers Cove


Ahoy, mateys! It's Cocktail Week here in SF and last night I stopped in at one of the 'about town' happy hours at Smuggler's Cove in Hayes Valley. Technically a tiki bar, it reminded me more of an alcoholic version of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride - in a good way. They serve up more than 300 different types of rum here and the cocktail menu is Cheesecake Factory-sized!

So the drink you see above is their eponymous Rum Barrel, made with a secret 'barrel mix' which they remain tight-lipped about - the other ingredients are lime juice, pineapple juice and three types of Demerara rum. It is literally intoxicating. I felt like I had been transported to a Caribbean island almost immediately - this may be because I consumed it on an empty stomach...

However, they will reveal how to make their delicious daiquiris. The daiquiris I've had in the past have been frothy, blended, sugary concoctions. At Smuggler's Cove they make a clean, crisp, simple daiquiri that only has three ingredients so it really spotlights the rum:

1/2 ounce lime juice
1/2 ounce simple syrup
2 ounces of rum - they were using Denizen last night - it's a relatively new brand that's a mix of three styles of rum from Trinidad and Jamaica that's making its debut in SF

They also put different twists on the daiquiri - my favorite is the 'Hemingway,' or the #3. Of course the history of the drink is a little hazy. One story goes that this was the way the renowned writer (and drinker) requested his daiquiri when at the legendary bar in Havana, Cuba called La Floridita. To make it, simply add a tsp of maraschino and a tsp of grapefruit juice. Shake with ice, strain if you like and serve in a stem glass.


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