Leyenda
CACHAÇA
The national spirit of Brazil, sugar-based cachaça could be called a rum, though it differs from most rums in that it’s distilled from fermented sugar cane juice, rather than molasses. (And because Brazil is very protective of the cachaça designation, to mark their product as something distinctive.) While much of the country’s cachaça is mass-produced and more than a little harsh, several high-quality brands have come into the U.S. market in recent years, with Avuá cachaça in particular making waves in the mixology world; others include Leblon and Yaguara.
SHADOW BOXER
Ivy Mix, Leyenda
Ivy Mix features the artisanal cachaça Yaguara in this brilliant red, not-quite-a-Negroni with apricot eau-de-vie and grapefruit liqueur.
1½ oz/45 mL Yaguara cachaça
¾ oz/20 mL Campari
¾ oz/20 mL Dolin dry vermouth
¼ oz/10 mL Blume apricot eau-de-vie
¼ oz/10 mL Giffard pamplemousse
Combine all the ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir until well chilled and strain into a coupe. Garnish with an orange twist.
CAIPIRINHA
The national drink of Brazil, and by far the most popular way to drink cachaça, the caipirinha is a simple, rustic cocktail with just lime, sugar, cachaça, and often Angostura bitters. Traditionally the drink is built in a rocks glass, crushing the limes before adding sugar and spirit, then given a brief stir; for more of a “cocktail bar” method, use simple syrup, and give it a quick shake, helping to integrate the flavors.
2 oz/60 mL cachaça
1 lime, halved, each half then quartered
¾ oz/20 mL simple syrup
1 dash Angostura bitters
Add the lime and simple syrup to the bottom of a cocktail shaker and muddle hard. Add the cachaça and ice, and give several strong back-and-forth shakes. Pour the drink (ice, limes, and all) into a rocks glass, and add a dash of bitters.
Liquor plus soda—could anything be simpler? Highballs—by definition, just a spirit plus a mixer—are the easiest cocktails in the book. Yet you’ll find them much improved if made with a bartender’s eye toward detail. Pay attention to proportions and garnish and you’ll have a drink that’s as professional as it is dead simple.
CUBA LIBRE
2 oz/60 mL London dry gin
4 oz/120 mL Fever Tree tonic
In a Collins glass with ice, stir together the rum and Coke. Squeeze in a lime wedge.
DARK AND STORMY
2 oz/60 mL Gosling’s Black Seal rum
4 oz/120 mL Gosling’s ginger beer
In a Collins glass with ice, stir together rum and ginger beer. Squeeze in a lime wedge.
EXTRA-GINGER DARK AND STORMY
2 oz/60 mL Gosling’s Black Seal rum
1 oz/30 mL lime juice
¾ oz/20 mL ginger syrup (recipe here)
2 oz/60 mL club soda
Combine the first three ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until well chilled and strain into a Collins glass with fresh ice. Top with club soda and garnish with a lime wedge.
GINGER CAIPIRINHA
Like a margarita or daiquiri, the caipirinha takes well to experimentation; fresh ginger syrup is a great match.
2 oz/60 mL cachaça
1 lime, halved, each half then quartered
¾ oz/20 mL ginger syrup (recipe here)
1 dash Angostura bitters
Add the lime and simple syrup to the bottom of a cocktail shaker and muddle hard. Add the cachaça and ice, and give several strong back-and-forth shakes. Pour the drink (ice, limes, and all) into a rocks glass, and add a dash of bitters.
MAIDEN NAME
Ivy Mix, Leyenda
Cachaça steps in for Caribbean rum in Ivy Mix’s creamy blended drink that plays with tiki flavors.
2 oz/60 mL Avua cachaça
½ oz/15 mL coconut milk
½ oz/15 mL Coco Lopez
¾ oz/20 mL vanilla syrup (recipe here)
½ oz/15 mL lime juice
½ oz/15 mL cinnamon syrup (recipe here)
¼ oz/10 mL passion fruit puree
Add all the ingredients to a blender with ice and blend. Serve in a tiki mug, garnished with freshly grated nutmeg and pineapple leaves.
TAKES ON THE
DAIQUIRI
Most drinkers will hear “daiquiri” and think “frozen.” But a daiquiri is a true classic, as essential to the canon as Manhattans and martinis—and a lot simpler than you might think. Rum, sugar, and fresh lime juice: That’s all a true daiquiri entails.
“We as a cocktail culture are still recovering from the long-abused daiquiri,” says Ian Hardie of Huckleberry Bar. “After fighting through the land of frozen drinks and Rose’s lime juice, the daiquiri is making its way back.” And as Hardie notes, it’s exciting to see someone try a “real” daiquiri for the first time.
Try out a classic daiquiri in all its tart, simple glory before moving on to other renditions.
DAIQUIRI
TONIA GUFFEY
“One of the most perfect cocktails on earth, albeit highly underrated, is the daiquiri,” says Guffey. “I like Banks 5 Island rum because it has a lot of depth; or for a cleaner, crisper taste I like El Dorado 3 Year.”
2 oz/60 mL white rum
1 oz/30 mL lime juice
¾ oz/20 mL simple syrup
Combine all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until well chilled and strain into a coupe. Garnish with a thin lime wheel.
BASIL DAIQUIRI
The standard daiquiri is a canvas that takes well to additional flavors. Adding a few basil leaves takes the drink in a fragrant, herbal direction. There’s no need to muddle the basil here; the good shaking it gets with ice will express its flavors just fine.
2 oz/60 mL white rum
1 oz/30 mL lime juice
¾ oz/20 mL simple syrup
5 basil leaves
Combine all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until well chilled and double strain into a coupe. Garnish with a large basil leaf, gently slapping it against your hand before placing it atop the drink.
HUASCAR DAIQUIRI
DEL PEDRO, TOOKER ALLEY
“This was created on the fly at 3:00 a.m. for a customer who had run me out of rum drinks,” says Del Pedro. A float of dark, molasses-like Blackstrap rum doubles as a garnish.
2 oz/60 mL Flor de Caña 4 Year
¾ oz/20 mL lime juice
¾ oz/20 mL simple syrup
½ oz/15 mL Cruzan Blackstrap rum
Combine the first three ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until well chilled and strain into a coupe. Float the Blackstrap rum on top.
HEMINGWAY DAIQUIRI
It’s said that this cocktail was invented at Havana’s famed El Floridita bar for Ernest Hemingway himself, who could make his way through a dozen in a day. (Like all Hemingway drinking stories, this one should be greeted with a bit of skepticism.) Regardless, it’s a beautifully sophisticated drink, with grapefruit in addition to lime and with the cherry liqueur maraschino taking the sweet role.
2 oz/60 mL white rum
¾ oz/20 mL grapefruit juice
½ oz/15 mL lime juice
¼ oz/10 mL Luxardo maraschino liqueur
Combine all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until well chilled and strain into a coupe. Garnish with a lime wheel.
GUERRA FRIA (COLD WAR)
TORREY BELL-EDWARDS, WILLOW
A take on a Hemingway daiquiri, the Guerra Fría (which translates to “cold war”) uses bitters and mint to round out the sweet-sour profile.
1½ oz/45 mL white rum
¾ oz/20 mL lime juice
¼ oz/10 mL Luxardo maraschino liqueur
¼ oz/10 mL simple syrup
3 dashes grapefruit bitters
3 dashes Peychaud’s bitters Mint oil
Combine all the ingredients except the mint oil in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until well chilled and double-strain into a chilled rocks glass. Garnish with several drops of mint oil in uneven sizes.
MR. HOWELL
JUSTIN OLSEN, BEARDED LADY
From Prospect Heights cocktail bar Bearded Lady, this drink’s clever addition of peated Scotch makes for a smoky, supple daiquiri.
1½ oz/45 mL rum (such as Flor de Caña 4 Year)
¾ oz/20 mL lime juice
½ oz/15 mL maple syrup
½ oz/15 mL peaty Islay whisky (Laphroaig, Lagavulin, etc.)
Combine all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until well chilled and double-strain into a coupe. Garnish with a lime wheel.
MARTINIQUAIS
THE RICHARDSON
Working within the daiquiri formula, this version uses a rhum agricole—a complex spirit distilled from sugar cane juice instead of molasses. Agricole brand Rhum J.M also reduces their pure cane juice and bottles it as a syrup, an intuitive partner for the rum itself.
2 oz/60 mL Rhum J.M Silver
½ oz/15 mL lime juice
½ oz/15 mL J.M Cane Sirop
Combine all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until well chilled and strain into a double rocks glass with fresh ice.
