I’ve been letting this go too long. Politics, and Los Angeles, and concerts, and the fact that I can go to my favorite bars again, it’s enough to bring a lesser low-stakes newsletter down. But this is no lesser low stakes newsletter…
Sometimes you can have a drink around that is nice to order, it’s a bit off the beaten path, but it’s not hard for a bartender to make because they have the components around. You can show a lil acumen, connect with the staff, and as a bonus, you get a nice drink. I was able to do that at a couple places in Los Angeles recently, but we’ll get to those drinks in a future volume of this series.
What do I want to do here? Well, there are lots of fun drinks you can order and should, and I certainly didn’t invent them all. So let’s sprinkle in some things that always make me raise my eyebrow when I see them on a menu or that I know I can get just about anywhere with a little cajoling…though folks, know your bar, do not go into a shot and a beer kind of joint and ask for stuff like this. There’s drinks for Wildhawk and there’s drinks for O’Keeffe’s and they are not the same.
So I’m sitting in the new Bar Agricole with a friend like you do looking at their drink list, and philosophically, it’s interesting because they are rocking a lot of single origin stuff and a very narrow, but well curated cocktail list, so the kinds of drinks they can make are all with some pretty fun stuff. And what do they have sitting on the menu but a drink I should definitely order more often, an El Presidente.
You know me (by now I hope? If not, welcome!) I love a good rum drink, especially balanced on the drier side because that’s not normally how I mix things at home. I have a palette that is a little sweeter so it’s always fun to see. They are dangerous that way imo and you will find out when we go to California Gold on a party bus for my birthday and drink one of their Zombies. But in the meantime, you can find a good dry El President a bit closer to home. Or you can come over and I’ll make you a slightly less dry one.
I should be using Cuban rum, but you know…let’s not violate US Sanctions policy (you do you, but uh…professionally speaking I would not recommend it). You can go a couple different directions. I chose Puerto Rican, and pulled out some Ron del Barrilito, but if you do want to take it that drier direction, may I suggest some agricole rum?
Dry Curaçao? Check, always have that around.
Dry vermouth…I do have that around, and there is no reason to reinvent the wheel here, Dolin works unless you really have some other dry vermouth you love, in which case…that works too. Live your best life.
Grenadine? I still have that homemade batch. Make sure it’s good stuff. You don’t need that neon Rose’s in your life, you are not an 8 year old ordering a Shirley Temple (or god forbid a 28 year old ordering a Dirty Shirley). Get yourself a nice bottle from Small Hand Foods or make it yourself with some pomegranate juice, it’s dead simple.
Anyway, you got four bottles you should find at most self-respecting bars, here’s what you do with them:
1/2 teaspoon grenadine
.75 oz dry vermouth
.5 oz dry curaçao
1.5 oz lightly aged rum
Nothing magic here, combine, shake, double strain into a chilled coupe. You know the drill by now.
There you go, you have something refreshing to make you look sophisticated in front of your friends. I’ll be back to talk about Paper Planes again sure, but imma try and pin down a couple more originals as I get back to this for the next month. Or another twist that involves a bottle of Centerba.