Cocktails: Devils Daiquiri
At the beginning of the season I found myself in the lab once again trying to come up with cocktails that taste of summer. Predicting the future while making something worth writing about constantly has my brain in the “cocktail clouds” with so many flavors floating around my head that year I felt like I couldn't really nail any of them down. I found myself with a lab full of singular cocktail components, some of them “failures”, others so abstract that they would intimidate even my most adventurous guests and the rest were just not quite there yet (story of my muhhfugggin life) but we don't waste anything ‘round here.
I just got done making this Cherry Tarragon Shrub for a whiskey highball that I never truly finished (shoutout ADHD). The shrub ended up making a great free-spirited drink with a squeeze of lime and soda water. The byproduct of this awesome flavor was a can of brandied cherry syrup and no cherries. The brandied syrup that was left behind was SUPER sweet, and a little tangy, a kinda flavor that hits you in the back of your jaw. With a brain full of half-cocked cocktails I had no idea how to turn this side into a main character.
After a long day of sipping syrup in the lab I got hungry and decided it was time to do something with this duck breast i had in the freezer. I pan seared the duck with some butter and herbs, set it to finish in the oven, then it was time to make some SAUCE. The neglected cherry syrup was just screaming to get used from the back of the pantry and who am I to deny? That cherry sauce was reduced down with a little pinot noir that I ALSO forgot about and made this amazing tannic syrup. The end result was dry, had a little muted sweetness and finished slightly fruity. That flavor put me immediately back in cocktail mode. It made me nostalgic, thinking of summer nights at the Sonic Drive in cherry limeades and plotting the classic question with your friends, “where the hose at?”. Anyway, while I was thinking about all that, I made a traditional daiquiri, crushed some ice, and poured that beautiful syrup over the top. First sip was bright citrus, followed intentionally by the dry red wine flavor that your momma loves, then immediately all calmed down by the muted sweetness of a luxardo cherry. GOD DAMN! That ish had me spewing the devil's words, twas so simple and layered. The flavor was so perfect that it distracted from the fact that I definitely burnt that duck. That damn devil and his daiquiris…
well hell that’s the story of another banger don't forget the duck in the oven and remember to
SIP SLOW!
Cheers,
Mixo Rix
