When Scientists Drink

M here. We’ll kick this one off with a bit of rhetorical stroll. It begins when I received And a Bottle of Rum: A History of the New World in Ten Cocktails by Wayne Curtis as a birthday gift from our friends the Bob and Nancy. It’s an easy and informative read on a subject that the author is clearly both passionate and well informed (I don’t think people appreciated the amount of dry academic background research that goes into writing). Mr. Curtis traces rum from a recipe for blindness derived from industrial waste sludge on sugar plantations through the modern sophisticated age of the mojito. In the chapter on the daiquiri, he talks at length about Ernest Hemingway, Havana, and El Floridita Bar. In the collection of recipes in the back, he provides a recipe for the Hemingway Daiquiri (which was developed at El Floridita). His recipe is 1 1/2 oz. rum (light rum–it’s Cuba after all), 1/4 oz. maraschino liqueur, 3/4 oz. simple syrup, 1/2 oz. grapefruit juice and 3/4 oz. lime juice. Shake it all up with ice and strain it into a cocktail glass.

Recipes for the Hemingway Daiquiri seem to vary in terms of the amount of simple syrup, from about the 3/4 oz here down to none. We made the recipe here and decided that it was much too sweet for our taste (the sweetness is what you notice). The next time I made the recipe I used 1/2 oz of simple syrup and we decided this was a distinct improvement, thought it was still sweet (maraschino is very sweet itself).

So, this all gets my little scientist brain going and out pops an experiment (B agreed to try this, although she didn’t want her cocktail drinking made complicated). I decided to quadruple the recipe (there’s two of us, right? What’s the harm?). Based on this, I need 6 oz. Rum (Bacardi silver in this case. I figure it’s as close to a Cuban rum as I can legally get, and besides, I had it), 1 oz. maraschino, 3 oz. lime juice and 2 oz. grapefruit juice. Now, before, I figured out that 2 ounces would be the most syrup that I would want to add, so I chilled four cocktail glasses and shook the cocktail mix (without syrup at this point) with ice and strained just a little into the first glass. I then added 1/2 oz (1 tablespoon) of simple syrup into the cocktail shaker, gave it a shake and strained a little into the next cocktail glass. I repeated this for the next two glasses and then added another tablespoon of syrup to the shaker. Now I have four cocktail glasses with 0, 1/2 oz, 1 oz, and 1 1/2 oz of simple syrup daiquiris and the cocktail shaker has the 2 oz. simple syrup daiquiri. We then started tasting with the no syrup daiquiri and moving up the sugar scale.

The no syrup daiquiri was definitely too sour. All you taste is the lime juice and it’s clearly missing something. The 1/2 oz syrup one was noticeably better, but remained too sour and still seemed to be missing something. The 1 oz. syrup Hemingway Daiquiri hit that magic spot. Flavors of both the maraschino and the grapefruit juice became subtly noticeable, the lime juice just seemed balanced and the drink not too sweet. Both the 1 1/2 oz and 2 oz syrup drinks drifted progressively into the sweet category and the subtlety of the juices was lost. We both agreed on the amount of simple syrup to get the best daquiri, which for us is something of a little miracle. So, after much academic rambling, the Cocktails with M version is:

The Hemingway Daiquiri

• 3 oz. rum
• 1/2 oz. maraschino liqueur
• 1 1/2 oz. lime juice
• 1 oz. grapefruit juice
• 1/2 oz simple syrup

Add ice. Shake vigorously in a cocktail shaker and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. This recipe makes two drinks or a double, depending on the extent of your thirst.

As a postscript…

Simple syrup is made by adding 1 cup of table sugar to 1 cup of water and bringing to a boil to dissolve. Transfer it to a bottle after it’s cooled a bit and store in the refrigerator until it’s needed or it grows mold (typically three or four months anyway). Some recipes call for 2 cups sugar to 1 cup of water, but this tends to crystallize out over time. I suspect if you add a tablespoon or so of corn syrup, it would prevent this, but I haven’t tried. All of our recipes call for the 1:1 simple syrup.

The Mojito, v. 1.1?

The Mojito

Ingredients

• 2 oz. Rum
• 3/4 oz. lime juice
• 6-8 mint leaves (and a sprig)
• 1 tsp. bar sugar (superfine, not powdered)
• Soda water (seltzer, not club soda)

Mixing Instructions
In a tall collins glass, muddle mint leaves, sugar and lime juice. Add rum. Add ice. Top with soda. Stir. Add straw and mint sprig.

The Commentary
Okay, the first question. What rum? Recipes vary. If the good folks at Bacardi are to be believed, it should be Bacardi (what a long shot there). I personally think a medium bodied rum adds that little complexity that’s needed–maybe an Appelton Estates or a Bacardi select. Probably something really dark and spiced would be too much. Brenda really seems to think Bacardi silver is the way to go. Her view, the more refreshing, the better. Something to be said for that. This drink really is a strong contender for the drink that IS summer.

The second issue is how to assemble it, and the follow up of what glasses. This one is pretty much my arena. I think if you want this drink to come out right, you have to use bar sugar and the mint leaves (and I add these by themselves first) and muddle them good. When I’m done, it’s a green ooze of mint goo. I then add the lime juice and muddle a little more. Finally, I add the rum and let it sit for a minute or two. My thought is to let the alcohol do a bit of extracting from the mint leaves. Finally add the ice, seltzer and sundry drink toys.

This all leaves us with a bit of a problem–mushed up mint leaves. If you put this in a clear glass, it’s not a pretty drink. So, option 1) really cool tiki mugs. The drink really isn’t tiki (wrong ocean), but it is tropical and if you have cool tiki, why not. Option 2). Muddle as before, but this time do it in a measuring cup. It’s easier to muddle in the shorter cup anyway. After the rum has had time to sit, put ice in tall collins glasses (ours have hibiscus flowers on them). Strain the muddled mix through one of those fine mesh tea strainers. Squirt a little of the seltzer through to rinse the mint leaves. Finish up by topping off with seltzer. This has the advantage of a prettier drink and no mint leaves in your teeth. The taste does seem to be the same.