Bartenders all over town are heading for the border. From classic Cuban mojitos and Brazilian caipirinhas to Dixiefied fruit juleps and the new rum-based Latinopolitan – the summer’s hot cocktails are tangy, strong, and icy cold.
The Recipes
Each recipe makes one drink.
Pisco Sour
Bolíver
2 ounces pisco
1 and 1/2 ounces simple syrup
1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon egg whites (frozen pasteurized egg whites can be used)
Dash bitters
Garnish: stalk of sugar cane
Place 1 cup ice, pisco, simple syrup, and the lime juice in a blender. Blend until smooth, about 40 seconds. Add egg white and blend for another 10 seconds. Pour into a tulip- shape glass, splash with two or three drops of bitters over the top, and serve immediately. (If you make more than one at a time, the drink comes out smoother.)
Calle Ocho
Calle Ocho
2 ounces Malibu coconut rum
1 ounce melon liqueur
3/4 ounce fresh pineapple juice
3/4 ounce fresh orange juice
Garnish: sliced cherry (optional)
Shake all the ingredients together over ice, and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with a sliced cherry on the rim of the glass.
Mojito
Vandam
1/2 cup loosely packed mint leaves
1 tablespoon instant-dissolving sugar
2 ounces Bacardi Limón rum
Club soda
1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
1/2 ounce Gosling’s Black Seal rum
Garnish: lime wedge and mint sprig
Place 1/2 cup mint in a highball glass with sugar and muddle quickly together, taking care not to smash the leaves. Fill glass with ice cubes, add the Limón rum, fill glass two thirds full with club soda, and add lime juice and black rum. Stir quickly and garnish with a lime wedge and a mint sprig.
Latinopolitan
Calle Ocho
2 ounces Bacardi Limón rum
1/2 ounce triple sec
1/2 ounce cranberry juice
Splash of fresh lime juice
Splash of sour mix
Garnish: mint sprig
Shake all the ingredients together over ice, and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with mint.
Caipirinha
Calle Ocho
1 lime wedge
Splash of fresh lime juice
3/4 ounce simple syrup
2 ounces cachaça
Garnish: lime wheel
Muddle the lime wedge with the lime juice. Add the syrup and cachaça, shake ingredients together with 1 cup ice cubes, and pour into a rocks glass. Garnish with a lime wheel.
Blackberry Julep
Dale Degroff at Blackbird
1 and 1/2 ounces Marie Brizard blackberry liqueur
3/4 ounce fresh lemon juice
3/4 ounce simple syrup
Garnish: Mixed marinated berries (for 1 pint of blueberries, strawberries, and black and red raspberries, steep for 3 hours in 2 teaspoons brandy, 4 teaspoons Cointreau, and 2 tablespoons sugar) Shake all the ingredients with 1 ounce water and ice. Strain into a highball glass three-quarters filled with crushed ice. Garnish with 1 heaping tablespoon marinated mixed berries and serve with a straw.
Port Cobbler
Dale Degroff at Blackbird
1/2 wheel orange
1/4 wheel fresh pineapple
1 lemon wedge
1 ounce orange curaçao
4 ounces ruby port
Garnish: additional orange, pineapple, and lemon wedges (with skin)
Muddle the fruit and curaçao in the bottom of a tall bar glass. Add port and 1 ounce of water. Shake with ice cubes, and strain into a second glass filled with crushed ice. Garnish with fruit and serve with a straw.
Champagne Cobbler
Dale Degroff at Blackbird
1/2 orange wheel
1/4 wheel fresh pineapple
1 lemon wedge
1 ounce Maraschino liqueur
4 ounces champagne
Garnish: additional orange, pineapple, and lemon wedges (with skin)
Muddle the fruit and liqueur in the bottom of a bar glass. Add champagne and 1 ounce water. Shake with ice cubes, then strain into a second glass filled with crushed ice. Garnish with fruit and serve with a straw.
Simple syrup: Shake 1 cup sugar with 1 cup water together in a bottle. Use once sugar has dissolved. Will keep in the refrigerator for several days.
Note: One ounce equals 2 tablespoons.