Cocktail of the Week: Brown Derby
Any drink recipe that calls for an ounce of lime juice is going to raise a red flag for me. I love citrus - just the smell of a freshly peeled orange or a zested lemon is enough to raise my spirits and whet my appetite. But I don't need a full ounce of it in a 3.5-ounce cocktail, which is what the folks at Esquire recommend for their version of the Brown Derby.
Esquire used to have a section of their site devoted to drink recipes and witty anecdotes to go with them, but they seem to have taken it down. Pity, it made for amusing reading. But I managed to save the recipe for the Brown Derby, a cocktail with no readily traceable history, because its ingredients piqued my interest. Dark rum, lime juice, and...maple syrup? After trying one of these, I'm suprised that maple syrup is such an under-utilized cocktail ingredient. The flavor adds an interesting dimension to a cocktail able to stand up to it - good maple syrup, the stuff made in Quebec or Vermont, is brutally, sickly sweet. Aunt Jemima's swill, which I actually tend to prefer on my pancakes (I know, I'm a bad Canadian), won't work here.
Esquire's original recipe called for 2 ounces of dark rum, 1 ounce of lime, and a teaspoon of maple sugar (or syrup). I tried it and winced from the lime. Again, love it in small doses, Margaritas are my best friend, etc., but it was too much. And a teaspoon of maple just isn't enough to balance the sour and the rum burn. So I adjusted the proportions to fit the more traditional Sour formula - more or less equal amounts of sweetener and sour.
When measured properly, this is a great drink, and a welcome addition to your cocktail repertoire. Try it on the next brutally hot day this month.
Brown Derby
1 1/2 oz Jamaican or Bermudan dark rum (Gosling's Black Seal)
1/2 oz fresh lime juice
1/2 oz maple sugar or syrup (see above)
Shake well with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
I need a lightbox or something for these photos.
Esquire used to have a section of their site devoted to drink recipes and witty anecdotes to go with them, but they seem to have taken it down. Pity, it made for amusing reading. But I managed to save the recipe for the Brown Derby, a cocktail with no readily traceable history, because its ingredients piqued my interest. Dark rum, lime juice, and...maple syrup? After trying one of these, I'm suprised that maple syrup is such an under-utilized cocktail ingredient. The flavor adds an interesting dimension to a cocktail able to stand up to it - good maple syrup, the stuff made in Quebec or Vermont, is brutally, sickly sweet. Aunt Jemima's swill, which I actually tend to prefer on my pancakes (I know, I'm a bad Canadian), won't work here.
Esquire's original recipe called for 2 ounces of dark rum, 1 ounce of lime, and a teaspoon of maple sugar (or syrup). I tried it and winced from the lime. Again, love it in small doses, Margaritas are my best friend, etc., but it was too much. And a teaspoon of maple just isn't enough to balance the sour and the rum burn. So I adjusted the proportions to fit the more traditional Sour formula - more or less equal amounts of sweetener and sour.
When measured properly, this is a great drink, and a welcome addition to your cocktail repertoire. Try it on the next brutally hot day this month.
Brown Derby
1 1/2 oz Jamaican or Bermudan dark rum (Gosling's Black Seal)
1/2 oz fresh lime juice
1/2 oz maple sugar or syrup (see above)
Shake well with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
I need a lightbox or something for these photos.
This entry was posted by Darryl, on
Tuesday, May 1, 2007.
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