Sunshine Lover 2.0

Two years ago I created the ‘Sunshine Lover’, a delicious highball cocktail with a base of Sierra Tequila. This summer, I wanted to improve that recipe. I like the typical grassy tones of Tequila, but already wondered what it would be like to also add a bit of warm rum flavor... without changing the recipe too much.

Señor Weber blanco rum is certainly no average blanco rum. For me it’s the perfect crossover between rum and cachaça. Weber Haus is one of Brazil’s best cachaça distillers, but they recently also started with their own range of rums. They have tons of knowledge on how to create tasty spirits from sugarcane juice. It’s definitely rum, but in the nose and mouth you will also recognize the typical cachaça grassy flavors. Don’t expect heavy agricole rum flavors, it really leans much more in the direction of cachaça, but with all the goodness of rum.

Sunshine Lover 2.0

Ingredients
30 ml Señor Weber Rum Blanco
30 ml Aperol
Fever-Tree Clementine tonic (You need about ¾ of a small bottle)

Method
Add the rum and Aperol directly into your glass with lots of ice. Give it a good stir. Top with Clementine tonic and give it two more gentle stirs. Garnish with dehydrated orange and a sprig of mint. Very easy… but also very tasty !!!

Summers are for highballs, or is it the other way around? For me the highball-definition is more about the drink than about the glass. I’m talking spirit and mixers. For glassware highballs are actually pretty easy. You can use a classic cocktail tumbler, a highball longdrink or the coppa glass you use for G&T's or Spritzes. Even a large wineglass will be just perfect. 

Extra !!!
This summer (during the months of July and August) you can also enjoy this cocktail at Paal 26 Grand Café.

Disclaimer : All pictures and texts are copyrighted by Geert Conard and Esito Management & Communications unless stated otherwise in the article. While some items might have been gifted by the producer or distributor, these are in no way paid promotions or recommendations.

Rum-Punch for the Best Neighbours in the world

We probably have the best neighbours in the world. Really, I mean it. That’s why my wife and I nominated Danny and Christel as “best neighbours” for #neighboursday.
Just one example? Last time we went on a summer vacation in Italy, we asked them if they could water our tomato-plants in the greenhouse while we were gone. But when we looked at our smartphones, we saw pictures of the neighbours mowing our lawn, removing weeds and fixing our entire garden. They don’t even own a lawnmower, they had to borrow one to do this since our garden shed was locked. Since I have hayfever and my wife has MS, this was a very big help for us. 

My wife and I both nominated them and they were selected as one of the 3 winners. Last weekend officials from the local government came to their house with gifts and flowers to thank them. My neighbours are fans of Double Strainger and joked that we probably needed a neighbours-cocktail to celebrate. 

Two days ago I saw a delicious rum-punch mixed by @delightfuldrinks and thought “That’s just perfect”. I mixed up two bottles of rum-punch and brought one to the neighbours. Very tasty, very boozy… and really simple to serve over ice. 

Big ‘Thank you’ to @delightfuldrinks. Visit their Instagram page for a video recipe.

The recipe is not in ounces or ml but in “parts”, easily scalable for your visitors or party. A part can be as little as 10 ml if you want a very small L.A. drink, it can also be a barrel or a truckload for large parties or festivals. If you use 40 ml as a part, the recipe below will already cover two to three servings (It’s what I used for the pictures). 

It’s a punch, so you really never drink this alone 😉 

Rum-Punch for the Best Neighbours in the world

Ingredients
2 parts Angostura Rum 1824 (Aged Rum)
2 parts Casa Magdalena Ron Blanco (White Rum)
2 parts Pineapple juice
1 part Lime juice
1 part Grapefruit juice
½ part Grenadine syrup
2 dashes Angostura aromatical bitters

Method
Add all ingredients into a bottle. Close and shake hard. Serve over ice. Garnish with a slice of dehydrated orange. 

Disclaimer : All pictures and texts are copyrighted by Geert Conard and Esito Management & Communications unless stated otherwise in the article. While some items might have been gifted by the producer or distributor, these are in no way paid promotions or recommendations.

Matusalem (3/3) - Orange is the new dark

It’s time for my second and last entry for the Matusalem friendly Foodpairing Competition. My first entry was a welcome-drink, this time I’ve created a very simple after-dinner drink. To complete the bar-serve I paired it with orangettes. Optional this drink also matches very well with a good quality Cuban cigar. 

Orangettes are candied orange peels covered in dark chocolate. These days you can find them in the candy-section of any supermarket, or you can level up and buy premium orangettes at Leonidas or Neuhaus chocolate stores 😉 

Orange is the new dark

Ingredients
60 ml Matusalem Gran Reserva 15
10 ml Gonzalez Byass Nectar (PX Sherry)
2 dashes Angostura cocoa bitters

Method
Add everything to a mixing glass with lots of ice. Stir for 15 seconds. Strain into a chilled tumbler with a fresh block of ice. Garnish with a dehydrated orange wheel and pair with orangettes. 

Disclaimer : All pictures and texts are copyrighted by Geert Conard and Esito Management & Communications unless stated otherwise in the article. While some items might have been gifted by the producer or distributor, these are in no way paid promotions or recommendations.

Matusalem (2/3) - Welcome to the party

As promised a couple of days ago, I’m creating two bar-serves with Matusalem rum, both are entries for round two of the Matusalem Friendly Foodpairing Competition. (Competition entry = Instagram story). 

With this first entry I wanted to create the idea of a welcoming drink. It’s not a real aperitif, it’s really a “Welcome to the party” drink, probably served a couple of hours before food is offered. I paired the cocktail with a delicious macaron with cherry flavor. 

Welcome to the party

Ingredients
50 ml Matusalem Rum Insólito Wine Cask
20 ml Cointreau Noir
7 ml Honey Syrup
Crémant de Bourgogne (or another sparkling wine)
Macaron

Method
Add the rum, Cointreau and syrup to a tumbler with lots of ice. Stir for 15 seconds. Strain into your favourite Champagne glass. No garnish needed, serve with a Cherry macaron.  

Tip
If you don’t have Cointreau Noir, use 15 ml of “normal” Cointreau and 5 ml of Cognac. 
If you can’t find cherry macarons, try other red fruit flavors. 

Disclaimer : All pictures and texts are copyrighted by Geert Conard and Esito Management & Communications unless stated otherwise in the article. While some items might have been gifted by the producer or distributor, these are in no way paid promotions or recommendations.

Father's Day Sour - The London N°1

Next Sunday is Father’s Day in Belgium. You might have considered the classic choice for a boozy present (Gin of bubbly for women, but mostly dark spirits for men), but why not do the opposite this year? Men also like a refreshing and good quality Gin & Tonic to wet the appetite before firing up the BBQ. 

Of course a G&T might be a bit too easy for a new festive blogpost, so I tried to make it a bit tastier by adding some fruity sours. Don’t let the color fool you, this is not a sweet drink. This sour is a bitter and boozy aperitif most men will certainly appreciate. 

The base for my drink is The London N°1 Gin, distilled in copper pot stills in the heart of London and a stylish brother of the popular Mom Gin range. Gonzalez Byass is the brand owner. 

Father’s Day Sour

Ingredients
50 ml London N°1 Gin
30 ml Grapefruit juice
15 ml Maraschino liqueur (Max. 20 ml, for me 15 ml was already enough)
A dash of citrus bitters
Fever-Tree Premium Soda Water

Method
Add everything but the soda water to a shaker with lots of ice. Shake hard until the shaker feels really cold. Fine strain into a big coppa glass with fresh ice. Top with soda water. Garnish with grapefruit. 

Disclaimer : All pictures and texts are copyrighted by Geert Conard and Esito Management & Communications unless stated otherwise in the article. While some items might have been gifted by the producer or distributor, these are in no way paid promotions or recommendations.

Matusalem (1/3) - Cuba Libre Royale

I’m often invited to participate in online tastings, but a few weeks ago I attended one that was kind of special. The main idea of the webinar was “foodpairings with Matusalem rum”, based on a scientific analysis by a Belgian lab. Very intriguing. 

Matusalem was founded in Cuba in 1872, but when Castro came in charge, they fled the island and moved to the Dominican Republic. The tasting featured two bottles : Ron Matusalem Gran Reserva 15 and the limited edition Ron Matusalem Insólito Wine Cask (which is actually a rosé rum!)

We all know our Rum & Coke or Cuba Libre, but Matusalem also takes this a step further. I’m sharing their modern edition of the Cuba Libre in this article. But first there’s a bit more to tell…

As a participant in this webinar, I was also invited to take part in a ‘friendly competition’ and enter foodpairing ideas for both rums. I was surprised to hear I made it to the second round. I received a box with both bottles and some extra stuff… and can now create both of my cocktail ideas and share them in the second round. You’ll see them both appear in the next days. But for now, let’s have a nice Cuba Libre Royale. Cheers!

P.S. The winner of the competition will receive a big bottle and nice stuff for the bar. Since I’m a blogger and don’t own a bar or restaurant, I’m actually participating just for fun 😉. My recipes for this content are cocktail serves paired with matching sweets, which you could actually serve in any cocktailbar. Keep your eye on this blog and sociale media. 

Cuba Libre Royale

Ingredients
50 ml Matusalem Gran Reserva 15
15 ml Fabri Cola Syrup
30 ml Club Soda
50 ml Crémant de Bourgogne (Or another good quality sparkling wine)

Method
Build the drink in a glass with enough ice and give it just a couple of gentle stirs. Garnish with lime or lemon. 

P.S. This nice glass was also a gift from Matusalem. It’s a design of Luigi Bormioli (Italy)

Disclaimer : All pictures and texts are copyrighted by Geert Conard and Esito Management & Communications unless stated otherwise in the article. While some items might have been gifted by the producer or distributor, these are in no way paid promotions or recommendations.