Congratulations to neptune@dmv.social on the win for April, and to the closest challenger and most active participant BigGovernment[@lemmy.world.
For May, the challenge is a less sweet rum drink. Roll out the barrel, pirates!
The rules are even fewer than before, not requiring pictures since that’s not working for everyone but a picture may get you more votes.
The drink must be original (as far as you can tell with a quick online search). Can be wholly original or a variation on a standard. A complete recipe and your impressions - what does it taste like? Winner is the most upvoted, downvotes are discarded.
Winner of the May contest can have glory unending, and can pick the theme for July.
I got two suggestions from another site, including them here, not as entries but for anyone looking for a suggestion. The consensus on that cooking community was Barbancourt Haitian rum, on its own, is not sweet and is good enough to just sip. Their suggestions were:
Barbancourt rum with ginger juice and bitters.
Barbancourt martini with dry vermouth.
This is a tough one. I tried subbing rum into a perfect Manhattan and didn’t care for it. I make a tiki old fashioned that’s been a big hit and it’s not too sweet, but it’s definitely not dry. That’s still the best “dry” rum cocktail in my repertoire, so I stuck with the old fashioned format and worked on a different variation. Here’s a rum/coffee old fashioned.
1.5 oz Plantation 5-year, 0.5 oz Wray and Nephew 151 0.75 oz Perc, 2 dashes Angostura bitters. Serve on ice with a wide orange peel.
Smells of coffee, alcohol, and orange. Tastes of a strong earthy coffee sweetened with molasses. A little bit of banana, and a little bit of warming spice. Not too bitter and not too sweet.
Notes and other thoughts: There’s probably a better rum or rum blend. Also, the 1/2 ounce Wray and Nephew is an estimate. I tried it with just Plantation and thought it needed more punch, so I put in a splash of the 151 and it helped. It’s probably less than that amount. Perc is a regional coffee liquor, I don’t know if it’s available outside of New England. Kahlua would not make an acceptable substitute, but I think Mr. Black would. The orange peel isn’t a great garnish for this. It doesn’t mesh well with the other flavors. Not sure what would be.
Cinnamon stick maybe?
That’s a good idea. Or maybe a fresh chili pepper and sub in mole bitters? I wasn’t planning on working any more on this, but maybe I’ll try play around with it this weekend.