IBA Cocktail No. 10…and
becoming a “real” bartender
Don’t you hate it when people say “I read somewhere…,” and then they have no idea where they read it? Me too. Well, I read somewhere that if a bartender wants to know whether another bartender is the real deal that he or she asks that person to make a daiquiri. Really? The daiquiri, I thought. I spent a brief moment wondering why, made a mental note to pay attention in case I came across an answer, and I moved on. But it did leave me (about to demonstrate that I really am a cocktail novice) wondering why anyone who wanted to test a bartender would order some obscene, strawberry flavored, frozen concoction instead of what I had come to consider a “real” cocktail. (I might have just crossed into the region called “cocktail snob.” It’s odd that they let me cross the border given this article’s graphic admissions). Well, I recently discovered the answer.
The answer? Well, as it turns out, the frozen daiquiri many of us know, the cousin to the piña colada, is not THE daiquiri. In fact, as far as I can tell, it bears no reasonable resemblance to the real thing. And, as it also turns out, I happen to love the real thing.
The Daiquiri
1/2 oz. Simple Syrup
5/6 oz. Lime Juice
1.5 oz. White Rum
Combine the ingredients in a tin on tin shaker with ice and shake for ten seconds. Strain into a cocktail glass and enjoy knowing you have superior cocktail knowledge.
So, THAT is the real thing? Yes! It’s a simple three ingredient cocktail that is a slice of heaven. The marriage of rum and lime, sweetened to make it magical. The IBA recipe called for superfine sugar. Hello? Amazon? Could you please send me some superfine sugar? Yes? Great. In the meantime I still had a cocktail to make, so I went with the simple syrup, included in the recipe above. If you were going to sub in the superfine sugar to stick with the IBA’s official recipe (for example, if you are preparing for the World Cocktail Championship) then you would use “2 bar spoons of superfine sugar” instead of the simple syrup.
As for the rum, I have always loved this Oronoco Rum. It is Brazilian and was made with sugar cane, and then mixed with Venezuelan Rum made with molasses. It was made by makers of cachaça. Why do I say: “was made?” Well, in 2010, for some unknown reason, they decided to quit making it. I guess probably for the same reason Smooth Ambler quit making gin. They were tired of printing money? I snatched up a couple bottles of Oronoco, and it is almost gone. It tastes like vanilla and, I often think, coconut. Regardless, I suppose any great white rum will be delicious.
I am anxious for this quarantine to be over for many reasons, but one is that I want to stroll into a cocktail bar and order a daiquiri. I might even order one in several cocktail bars just to ensure that their bartenders are worth their salt. After all, it’s all in the name of research, right?