Pineapple Tamboo

Spiced rum – you either love it or hate it. And when it's a good one, I absolutely love it. Angostura is famous for its aromatic bitters, used in lots of classic cocktail recipes. But did you know they also make excellent quality rum? Their latest creation is Angostura Tamboo, a golden spiced rum infused with Caribbean spices. I always start with a straight sip to savor all the flavors, and let me tell you, I fell head over heels for this bottle.

Tamboo takes its name from the bamboo drum that's been setting the beat for Trinidad and Tobago's street carnivals since 1884. You don't need much to make a spiced rum shine – just a touch of sweetness and a squeeze of lime, and you've got yourself a fantastic drink. Personally, I kicked it up a notch to kickstart my summer.

On the side, I've got a little bowl of 'Happy Hippo' roasted nuts by The Nutty Farmer, Frederik Bostyn. These fairtrade cashew nuts come all the way from Burkina Faso, roasted to perfection in the oven, and seasoned with a delicious blend of oriental spices and pomegranate. Trust me, it's the perfect accompaniment to enjoy with your spiced rum.

Pineapple Tamboo

Ingredients

50ml Angostura Tamboo Spiced Rum

40ml Pineapple juice

20ml Lime juice

10ml Sugarcane syrup

Method

Add all ingredients to a shaker with lots of ice. Give it a good shake and strain over fresh ice. Garnish with orange and a cocktail cherry. Cheers.

Disclaimer: All pictures and texts are copyrighted by Geert Conard and Esito 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.

Angel

When we mix a longdrink with rum, the mixers that first come to mind are coke (Cuba Libre!!!), ginger-ale or ginger beer. In this Gatsby-style highball drink we use tonic. The combination of rum and tonic was a bit new and unusual for me, but your tastebuds adapt pretty fast. 

Without the intention to stereotype, I do feel this is a nice aperitif which will probably be liked by most ladies at your next “roaring 20s”-party. 

Angel

Ingredients

50 ml Havana Club 5y Rum 

10 ml House of Broughton Rose syrup

Tonic

Method

This hassle-free drink can be built directly into your longdrink glass. Fill the glass with ice cubes, add rum and syrup, top with tonic. Give it a few gentle stirs. Possible garnish: a dried rosebud.

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.

This is not a Daiquiri, but the drink sure has gutss

When you want to cut back on alcohol, but you really have your favourite recipes… it’s sometimes hard to find decent replacement products. For that reason, I find it sometimes hard to mix up a good-quality mocktail. I was already intrigued when I received a bottle that claimed to be a good replacement for rum. Would I be able to serve my better half a Daiquiri-style drink, but without the alcohol? 

Gutss is a Belgian non-alcohol premium drink range, claiming to work pretty well in lots of recipes. It doesn’t contain any alcohol, but still has that typical “alcohol bite” you need to mix up a good cocktail. It brings "body" to your drink. In the range, they have two different gin replacements, an Italian spritz and a Cuban spiced rum replacement. The last one is on our test bar at this moment. This product can be used to create non-alcohol variations on the Dark ‘n Stormy, Cuba Libre or Mojito. So, let’s try a fruity variation on the Daiquiri. 

This is not a Daiquiri, but the drink sure has gutss

Ingredients

50 ml Gutss Cuban Spiced (Non-alcoholic rum replacement)

30 ml Lime juice

30 ml Pineapple juice

10 ml Simple Syrup

Method

Add everything to a shaker with lots of ice. Give it a good shake for 10 seconds, and strain in a Martini glass. Garnish with lime. 

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.

Carribean Journey (with Larimar rum)

The fun part of the Daiquiri recipe is that you can vary on the ingredients… almost endlessly. Each alteration on any of the ingredients will change the result in your glass. By picking another brand of spirit, another juice or syrup… you basically create a new cocktail. 

Today I’m just playing with the juices, while testing this Ron Larimar… excellent rum from the Dominican Republic, aged in Pedro Ximenez sherry barrels… in Scotland. I always love experiments where barrels are aged on other continents. 

I have tasted several rums in the past months, but this is a bottle that really surprised me. Great taste and aroma. Packed with fruity flavours. 

Caribbean Journey

Ingredients

50 ml Ron Larimar Pedro Ximenez sherry cask finish

30 ml Pineapple juice

10 ml Lemon juice

7 ml Simple syrup

Method

Add all ingredients to a shaker with ice. Shake for 15 seconds and strain in a longdrink with fresh ice cubes. Garnish with orange. 

Tip
If you want to upgrade the drink even more, add a splash of Campari. 

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.

La Bienvenida

Summer is just around the corner and we can use a drink that smooths us into that sunshine. This one sure does. 

The name was chosen, refering to the pineapple as symbol of hospitality. 

(Photo: Paal 26).

La Bienvenida

Ingredients
50 ml Havana Club Golden Rum
20 ml Lemon juice
10 ml Simple Syrup
30 ml Pineapple juice

Method
Shake with ice. Strain over fresh ice in a tumbler. Garnish with basil and/or fresh pineapple. 

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.

Sugar and spice

This ‘Sugar & Spice’ is a spicy alternative for a classic Rum Old Fashioned. 

With a base of Mexican Sol Tarasco Charanda Rum, I started this drink as a Rum Old Fashioned, with some sugar and Angostura aromatical bitters. Then I added a shot of Ambr. After some balancing, this ended in a tasty, but spicy drink. 

Ambr is a non-alcoholic drink, created by 'Ghost in a bottle' and based on curcuma and ginger. You can drink it mixed with soda or added in your tea. You could even drink it neat as a digestive shot or use it in the kitchen to spice up your desserts. It doesn’t have a strong and pure ginger taste like other similar brands, it's a very clever marriage between ginger and curcuma. 

In cocktails, this drink works more or less like a liqueur, but it’s no liqueur. It doesn’t contain any alcohol and even the sugar level is almost nothing. This is about spices and taste. I have used ginger mainly in sour-style drinks before, but never in Old Fashioned-style drinks. Ok, I might have used ginger syrup before, but no similar products. I was surprised by the result. 

Sugar & Spice

Ingredients
50 ml Charanda Rum or Rum Agricole
20 ml Ambr Curcuma & Ginger
10 ml Simple syrup
2 dashes Angostura bitters

Method
Add everything to your shaker with ice. Give it a good shake and serve over fresh ice in a tumbler. Garnish with 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.

Ti'Punch Day

Sometimes it can be pretty easy to blog about drinks. Last week I received a parcel from Clément Rhum with all the ingredients and tools I needed to stir (or swizzle) a nice Ti’Punch cocktail. The Ti’Punch is a classic sour cocktail from Martinique that’s related to the Daiquiri, but with lime in a spotlight role. March 16 is International Ti’Punch Day, a perfect excuses for all of you to mix one of these yourself.

I know that some people are not very fond of Rhum Agricole, but the Ti’Punch is absolutely the perfect recipe to try this kind of rum. I can tell you the taste is somewhere in between a Daiquiri and a Caipirinha (when made with a good quality Cachaça) and leaning much more in the direction of the Caipirinha. 

Ti’Punch

Ingredients
60 ml Rhum Clément White Rhum Agricole
5 grams of cane sugar
Fresh Lime (or 20 ml of lime juice)

Method
Normally the Ti’Punch is always stirred directly in the glass. Add a tablespoon of sugar to a tumbler. Add the Clement Rhum. Squeeze a lime wedge (or add 20 ml of lime juice). Add ice and stir or swizzle to perfection. Garnish with some extra lime wedges.

Remark
For this drink ice is optional. Lots of people like the Ti’Punch neat, I prefer some ice.

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. 

70s Retro Banana Daiquiri

So, I really loved the Daiquiri with a shot of Amaro added to the recipe. What if we exchange this herbal bitter with any other liqueur? Would that work? I just had to try. 

Of course, I had to go completely crazy and try the oddest things first. 

What was the result? A crazy drink that was actually awesome. I swallowed this tasty drink almost as fast as a Brit drinks his pint. So, go raid your grandma’s liqueur cabinet, I’m sure you’ll find a bottle of Pisang somewhere in the back 😉

70s Retro Banana Daiquiri

Ingredients
50 ml Angostura Reserva Rum 3y 
20 ml Pisang Ambon
25 ml Lemon juice
10 ml Simple Syrup

Method
Add everything to a shaker with lots of ice. Give it a good shake and strain into a chilled tumbler with fresh ice. I garnished with a cocktail cherry and a slice of blood orange, but banana would have been so much better.

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. 

Orange and Cocoa Old Fashioned

When I spotted another great recipe by my friends at Delightful Drinks, I wanted to make my own version. I ended up with a really good drink. Of course I already knew orange and cocoa flavours always do magic together. 

Orange & Cocoa Old Fashioned

Ingredients

60 ml Matusalem Insolito Rum (Wine cask aged rosé rum)

10 ml Clement Creole Shrubb (Orange liqueur)

2 dashes Angostura Cocoa bitters

Method

Add all ingredients in a mixing glass with lots of ice. Stir for 15 seconds and strain into a chilled tumbler with fresh ice. Garnish with 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.

Xmas Gifts Parade 2021 - Rhum Depaz Réserve Spéciale VSOP

Next up in our Xmas Gifts Parade is Rhum Depaz Réserve Spéciale VSOP, a very old Rhum Agricole blend from Martinique, aged for at least 7 years in selected small oak casks. Depaz rums have always enjoyed sun-drenched lands between sea and volcano, with soils rich in ash from Mount Pelée producing cane that offers a sugar content unrivalled anywhere in Martinique. Crushed immediately after growing, this sugar cane combined with Mount Pelée spring water produces a hugely fresh juice. 

Delicate flavours of chocolate, vanilla, liquorice, dry-roasted fruit and tobacco. On the palate clean, powerful and fresh, prune notes and soft oak. A long satisfying finish adding a more peppery touch. 

Perfect pairings: Depaz Réserve Spéciale VSOP is a wonderful match for the dinner table and will reveal its full character when paired with the spicy, sunny cuisine of Martinique: specifically spider crab cream with a sweet potato rouille, topped with avocado. 

With this fine rum, I wanted to show that a well-balanced cocktail with good quality old rum is also a good marriage for some nice antipasti. The classic “Between the sheets” recipe is just perfect. I mixed the rum with Spanish Soberano brandy, which is a bit lighter in alcohol, the result is a very tasty aperitif.  

Under a blanket

Ingredients
25 ml Rhum Depaz VSOP
25 ml Soberano Brandy
25 ml Cointreau
25 ml Fresh lemon juice
5 ml Simple Syrup

Method
Add all ingredients to a shaker with lots of ice. Shake for 15 seconds and double strain into a chilled coupe. No garnish needed, serve with some good quality antipasti.

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.

Xmas Gifts Parade 2021 - Kick-off

It’s time to kick off our annual Xmas Gifts Parade. We are running a little bit behind with photoshoots, but we’ll try to publish a wonderful series of mouth-watering drinks between today and Christmas Eve. 

I always love a good start, today I’m not sharing just one tasty recipe with you. I’m sharing THREE tasty recipes. You want more? How about this: You will be able to enjoy all three of these drinks at Paal 26 Grand Café until the end of January. 

The first drink is a Rum Martinez, but without Maraschino liqueur. Let’s do it a bit different. 

On Double Strainger we always try to keep recipes as easy as possible, with bottles you’ll be able to find in any supermarket or liqueur store. Another threshold might be a bottle that you really never use. You won’t buy a “special” bottle for just one single cocktail recipe. Today I’m going to eliminate the bottle of Maraschino liqueur from the Martinez recipe. I have re-balanced the flavours to get the taste right. The bottle that I use as a substitute is a cherry syrup. You will absolutely use the rest of this bottle. You can mix it with soda for your kids or even pour it over your ice cream. Be careful, I used Monin Cherry Syrup which is very liquid and is intended for use in drinks. If you buy a cherry syrup which is much thicker, you need to adjust the quantity otherwise it will be too sweet.  

For all three recipes in this article I was looking for a rum that’s just a little bit sweeter and spicier than the average rum. I’ve selected two bottles that will really work. The first is Zacapa Rum from Guatemala. I’ve used it many times before and it has that special sweetness that really works for this style of drinks. Another great bottle is Rumbullion spiced rum, a rum with a fantastic taste created by the producers of the well-known Bathtub Gin. 

This award-winning spiced rum is a blend of Caribbean rum, Madagascar vanilla, orange peel, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom. It’s rich and complex and really fits what I had in mind for the end-of-year holidays. This is the rum you want to sip around the Christmas tree.

• Nose: Sweet Madagascar vanilla, cola, cloves and cinnamon. This is Christmas in a glass.
• Taste: Sweet, spice, orange, clove, honey, cola. An explosion of flavours.
• Finish: Long finish with creamy vanilla.

The cinnamon, vanilla and cloves also work fantastic for the other two cocktails I had in mind. Enhancing the flavour with some extra cinnamon syrup had the exact result I was looking for. I kept the recipe for the Spice 75 pretty sour, because I personally like it this way. If you want slightly more sweetness, add another 5 ml of syrup.

Rum Martinez

Ingredients
45 ml Rum
22 ml Pinguino Sweet vermouth
10 ml Tio Pepe Fino Sherry
10 ml Monin Cherry Syrup
2 dashes Orange bitters

Method
Add everything to your shaker. Give it a good shake for 10 seconds. Strain in a chilled coupe or Champagne flute. Garnish is optional, you could add a sweet cherry.

Spice 75

Ingredients
40 ml Rum
10 ml Monin Cinnamon Syrup
20 ml Lime Juice
Prosecco

Method
Add everything but the Prosecco to a shaker with lots of ice. Give it a good shake for 12 seconds. Fine strain in a Champagne glass. Top with Prosecco. Give it just one gentle stir. 

Xmas Old Fashioned

Ingredients

50 ml Rum
10 ml Monin Cinnamon Syrup
Dash of nut bitters

Method
Build in a tumbler glass with lots of ice. Stir in the glass. Garnish with orange. Pair it with a few of those small cinnamon cookies or a piece of black chocolate.

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.

Saint James VSOP Rum - Cocktail and cigar

Over the past years I’ve tried several brands of quality cigars, but my all-time favourite brand will always be the Cuban Romeo y Julieta, preferably the Short Churchill size. Last week I received a nice bottle of Saint James VSOP rum (43°) and the minute I opened the box, I wanted to pair it with a good cigar. So I jumped into my car and drove to one of my favourite spirit & cigar shops in my region, Huis Hardies in Mol.  

I picked up a few Romeo y Julieta cigars, but they were low stocked and didn’t have much choice in sizes. I had the salesguy advise me on some other brands that I didn’t really know. I ended up pairing my glass of rum with a CAO Pilón robusto extra (5x52).  

Nice to know : A “Pilón” is a layered stack of tobacco leaves that helps ferment the tobacco to maximize the flavor and color of the leaves.

Filler : Nicaragua
Binder : Nicaragua
Wrapper : Habano Ecuador

Very easy-smoking cigar that was just perfect in combination with slow sips of this rum. This cigars pairs very well with aged rum, but perhaps interesting to know for beer enthusiasts, it also pairs very well with a nice cool IPA beer. 

Of course I also wanted to use this rum in a cocktail. I always seem to have a problem with that. This is a very tasty aged rum that you really need to try neat. If you want to use it in a cocktail, don’t ruin it with too much juices and sugar etc. Rather just add some velvet sweetness and bitters and go for the Old Fashioned style. 

Saint James VSOP
Old Fashioned

Ingredients
60 ml Saint James VSOP Rum
15 ml Gonzalez Byass Nectar (PX Sherry)
1 dash of Cacao bitters

Method
Stir everything together with lots of ice. You can do this in a mixing glass or directly in your tumbler. Garnish with orange peel or a dehydrated orange slice. 

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.

Let's have a Bourbon Between the Sheets

Happy #IndependenceDay to all my friends in the USA. 

Let’s celebrate with one of the strongest cocktails on the menu. Today I’m mixing up a Bourbon-version of the ‘Between the sheets’. When it‘s really hot or if you would like to have more than one drink, you might lower the ingredients from 30 to 20 ml each, which still gives you 60 ml of hard liqueur. The orange liqueur should balance out the lemon juice. If the lemons are still too sour for your taste, add just a tiny bit of simple syrup. 

Let’s have a Bourbon Between the Sheets

Ingredients
30 ml Casa Magdalena Ron Blanco (White rum)
30 ml Maker’s Mark Bourbon
30 ml Cointreau
22,50 ml fresh lemon juice

Method
Add everything to your shaker with lots of ice. Shake hard and fine strain in a chilled coupe. Lemon is the better garnish for this one. 

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.

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.

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.

Experiment : Rum & Cola, but without the cola - Caracas Nectar

Sometimes it seems like things just happen to complete your story… By accident I didn’t receive the normal “sample kit” for the new Caracas Nectar Rum. I received a “distributors kit” which also included four aroma-samples that help you detect the most important aromas in this rum. The four main aromas that you can find in Caracas Nectar are : Banana, Cola, Cacao and fig. 

In non-Covid years on the first of May we always visit the “Radio 2 Garden Day”, a huge plants-fair where we buy a bunch of herb-plants directly from the producers. Because of COVID-measures, this event couldn’t take place this year, so we drove directly to the plantation of our favorite herbs-producer: Sanguisorba in Ranst. 

Bart Belmans has a true passion for herbs and grows lots of forgotten and medicinal herbs, next to your everyday mint and strawberry.

One of the special herbs I discovered in the greenhouses was the “Artimesia Abrotanum Maritima”, also known as the “Cola-herb”. This plant from the Absinthe-family smells exactly like cola and you can even use it to add subtle flavors to drinks. 

Let’s try a unique experiment. I’m going to make a ‘Rum & Cola’, which contains no cola at all. There is the cola-aroma in the rum itself and the intense cola-aroma of the herbal garnish. Tasting is actually 90% smell and 10% taste. In this drink you sip the rum, but your senses will experience the aroma of ‘Rum & Cola’. Your mind will be tricked into believing you’re tasting a ‘Rum & Cola’.

Does it really taste like a ‘Rum & Cola’? Of course not, but it really screws your mind because there is that hint of cola in the rum and the smell of cola in the garnish. It’s almost like a mental cocktail. What a great and fun experience. I think I will repeat this experiment in a few weeks when the plant has grown and I can cut off more garnish. You need a nice bush of this herb on top of your drink to get the right effect. 

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.

Bardot en Saint-Tropez - Maman Brigitte Rum

Last week I watched the product presentation of ‘Maman Brigitte’, a blended rum by (R)asta Morris, the independent bottling brand of Bert Bruyneel. We also got some cocktail suggestions by Noa Van Ongevalle, leading lady of cocktailbar The Pharmacy in Knokke. 

Maman Brigitte is a blend of 8yo Barbados rum, 5yo Dominican rum and 3yo Jamaican rum.

The Foursquare Barbados rum really puts its mark on the flavour profile of this blend. I don’t taste a very typical sweet rum flavour. The first dominant aroma is against all expectations citrus. This opens lots of opportunities for a nice fruity summer cocktail. The Dominican rum adds herbal and spicy notes. The Jamaican rum adds ‘funkiness’ due to the high amount of esters*. (Esters are natural compounds that are created through chemical reactions during the fermentation process when yeast mixes with molasse)

The character “Maman Brigitte” is a Goddess in the Voodoo legends of Haiti. She was the wife of Baron Samedi. She’s a goddess of life, death, justice, motherhood, fertility, cemeteries, crosses, gravestones, women, souls of deceased relatives, obscenities and passion. But of course there have been lots of famous Brigitte’s throughout history, so I picked my own choice for this delicious summer cocktail. I made one of these for my wife and when I asked her the next day what she wanted to drink, she replied “The same as yesterday”. 

P.S. During the online masterclass, Noa mixed up a tasty Zombie cocktail with 50 ml Maman Brigitte, 30 ml lime juice and 20 ml homemade falernum syrup. 

Bardot en Saint-Tropez

Ingredients
45 ml Maman Brigitte Blended rum
30 ml Triple Sec
40 ml Pineapple Juice
30 ml Lime juice

Method
Add all ingredients to a shaker with lots of ice. Shake for 10 seconds, double strain in a Martini glass. Add a cocktail cherry. 

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.