When I tried this week's recipe, I asked one of my tasters whether he drank rum.
"Do I drink rum?" he replied, incredulous. "I spent the last week with a rum I.V." (Meaning, he had just returned from vacation in Jamaica.) Though rum somehow seems to taste better on the beach or a boat it will also taste just fine in your living room. Especially in the Santa Cruz Rum Daisy, from the 1905 edition of the Consolidated Library of Modern Cooking and Household Recipes. Plus, they're easy to make — even if you've already had a couple.
Santa Cruz Rum DaisyFill small bar-glass one-third full of shaved ice; add 3 or 4 dashes of gum syrup, 2 or 3 dashes of maraschino or curaçoa, the juice of half a small lemon, and 1 wineglassful of Santa Cruz rum. After shaking well, strain into large cocktail glass and fill with Apollinaris or seltzer.
Tips for Lazy and Creative Boozers
• Instead of gum syrup, I used simple syrup, which you may remember how to make by mixing a 1:1 ratio of sugar and water in a saucepan, bringing it to a brief boil, and then reducing the heat and stirring so that everything is dissolved. Once cooled, pour the syrup into a jar and keep it in the refrigerator for the rest of your rum bender.
• I also tried Maraschino, which I had laying around thanks to the gin punch, but preferred the plainer version. I haven't tried the curaçao yet, but imagine it'd be delicious if you can find some that isn't unappetizingly blue (please leave a note if you do!).
• I made seltzer with my Sodastream machine. Highly recommend investing in this.
• Variation: The next day I made a version with limes and a few dashes of Citrus Hella Bitters (which I bought for the Manhattan recipe). This was also delicious! A dash of nutmeg on top really gave it a Caribbean flavor.
