Last week I took it upon myself to invent a new libation, with the starting point being bottles in my bar that are on the fuller side. The germ of this was putting together Plantation pineapple rum and Plymouth sloe gin. I liked the challenge of seeing if I could get these to go together: they're both obviously fruity in a classy way, but the former more New World and islandy while the latter has some Old World propriety to it.
Version one: stirred on the rocks
- 1 oz Stiggins
- 1 oz sloe gin
- 1/2 oz Becherovka (bitterness should round it out, cinnamon would be welcome)
- 1/4 oz Hamilton demerara 151 (brown sugar and heat)
- 1/4 oz ginger syrup (sweetness, and heat)
- 1/2 oz dry vermouth (to dry it out a bit)
Notes: the ginger and demerara burn at the end, but before that this is unintense. Almost tastes like it has lemon, a twist or even squirt wouldn’t be out of place.
Version two: shaken, up.
- 3/4 Stiggins
- 3/4 sloe gin
- 3/4 Becherovka
- 1/2 lemon juice
- 1/4 demerara 151
-
ginger syrup -
dry vermouth
Notes: here I let the Becherovka be the sweetener. Didn't work. This was too bitter and not sweet enough. Maybe drop the Becherovka and find another means of adding bitterness.
Version three: shaken, up.
- 1 1/2 Stiggins
- 1 sloe gin
- 1/4 demerara 151
- 1/4 ginger syrup
- 1/4 lemon juice
- dash Angostura bitters
- lemon twist
-
Becherovka
Notes: This is much closer, fruit up top then mild burny finish from the ginger syrup brought back in, and the overproof rum. Wife thought the finish needed more bass note. Maybe less 151 and more bitters. I was getting grapefruit from the previous version, maybe a grapefruit twist would be in order.
Version four: shaken, up.
- 1 1/2 Stiggins
- 1 sloe gin
- 1/4 ginger syrup
- 1/4 lemon juice
- barspoon demerara 151
- 2 dashes Angostura
- 2 dashes Regans
- grapefruit twist
-
lemon twist
Notes: This tasted very cherry-ish, in a quite appealing way (not cough-syrupy, as cherry alcohol often goes). Tingly finish. Grapefruit twist was maybe a wrong turn, lemon or orange would probably be a better fit. The proportions are pretty well set, just the details to work out. All sorts of fruits here (even a little "Screwdrivery").
Version five: shaken, up.
- 1 1/2 Stiggins
- 1 sloe gin
- 1/4 ginger syrup
- 1/4 lemon juice
- 2 dashes Ango
- 2 dashes Regans
- barspoon Demerara float
- lemon slice/cherry flag garnish
-
grapefruit twist
Notes: Not sure floating the overproof rum was a good idea. Now this is so cherry-ish, that it occurs to me I could run with that and make a chocolate covered cherry thing by subbing in some chocolate bitters.
Version six: shaken, up.
- 1 1/2 Stiggins
- 1 sloe gin
- 1/4 ginger syrup
- 1/4 lemon juice
- 1/4 demerara 151
- 1 dash Regans
- 2 dashes chocolate bitters
- cherry garnish
-
Angostura bitters -
lemon slice
Notes: Hmm, I think a barspoon is the right amount of 151 rum, but shaken in. The chocolate bitters took over here so bitters need adjustment.
Version seven: shaken, up.
- 1 1/2 oz Plantation Stiggins Fancy pineapple rum
- 1 oz Plymouth sloe gin
- barspoon Hamilton demerara 151 rum
- 1/4 oz ginger syrup
- 1/4 oz lemon juice
- 2 dashes Regans orange bitters
- 1 dash Scrappy's chocolate bitters
- cherry garnish
This was a fun exercise, that got me thinking about the process of revision. Here I didn't start with a very definitive end goal in mind, against which I was measuring each version. Instead I was taking cues from the versions themselves (though quite a few turned out to be dead ends or wrong turns). That approach probably was inefficient, but who needs efficiency these days?
