If you have ever been to Jamaica or Cuba, you know exactly the taste of authentic Cuba Libre or Pina Colada. Did you learn what the ingredients are? Did you learn how to make them? There are a few classical drinks that each party host should definitely know. Yet, those already bored of the classics may be interested in some drinks that may surprise their guests. Here is a list of the six best drinks you can make with an alcohol base.
#1 Mai Tai
It’s not a modern drink, as it comes from the 1940s. It’s pretty simple to make it with rum, orange liquor, lime juice, and fancy orgeat almond syrup. Beware of adding saccharine. It’s only a modification made to appeal to tourists, which ruins the original nutty and vanilla notes taste. Dark rum should be used for the recipe, yet, to explore the taste, try adding caçhaca, sugarcane alcohol. It’s a perfect summer drink or dinner party drink.
#2 Hurricane
Let’s travel to New Orlean with its classical cocktail from the 1940s. It’s also a light and dark rum-based drink, together with passion fruit syrup, orange juice, lime juice, and grenadine. It should be served in a hurricane lamp-shaped glass. You may see similarities to the classical daiquiri, but the Hurricane has much more alcohol – it has more than double the rum. It’s perfect as a signature drink or a drink for a night out.
#3 Bushwacker
We’re coming up with a perfect drink for a boiling hot day, so stay tuned. It’s a little older drink, created in the 1970s. It will keep you cold long after you finish sipping it, so go for it whenever you feel too hot.
To prepare it, you need aged rum, Kahlua, or any other coffee liqueur, creme de cacao (a chocolate liqueur), milk, ice, and cream of coconut. The last ingredient can’t be a coconut cream which is unsweetened. Cream of coconut is a sweetened syrup for drinks. Prepare the drink for your pool party, and your guests will be amazed.
#4 Old Cuban Cocktail
It’s a pretty modern drink invented in 2001 by New York bartender Audrey Saunder. It combines Mojito with French 75. It’s a must at a party as it’s on the list of the International Bartender Association’s IBA official cocktail. The list contains all classical cocktails, which means a fan of drinks should definitely know them. To prepare an Old Cuban cocktail, prepare mint, lime juice, simple syrup, aged rum, angostura bitters, and champagne. It’s another idea for a summer drink.
#5 Golden Cadillac
When a couple got engaged at a Poor Red’s restaurant in California in 1952, a bartender allowed them to choose the name of the drink. As they had just bought a Golden Cadillac, they started a long tradition of the drink. Use Galliano, creme de cacao, and heavy cream. Galliano is a sweet herbal Italian liqueur produced in Italy since 1896. Nutmeg, whether fresh or ground, is added as the final flavoring.
#6 The Clover Club
Feel like a gentleman in the 1900s sipping a sophisticated Clover Club Cocktail. For a long time, it was favored by prominent politicians but then became old-fashioned. It’s another cocktail on the International Bartender Association’s IBA official cocktails list, so give it a go.
To make the classical cocktail, you need gin, raspberry syrup, or grenadine (used in the original cocktail, replaced by the raspberry juice in the modern version), lemon juice, and egg white. The finishing with the white egg foam gives a creamy body to this bright pink drink. It will look fabulous during an elegant dinner party.