My drink this month is a classic twist on a classic drink with a twist. The Rum Manhattan is possibly the most common modification of any cocktail that it probably should have a name of its own. As far as the rum goes I prefer Mount Gay Extra Old (the TDN Drink de Jour.) The robust oaky flavours stand up really well against the power of bitters and the complexity of sweet vermouth.

The twist on the twist was inspired by the previous article on the wild drink blog on how to make caviar. Using a small amount of the huge amount of Maraschino cherry juice we had at work I made some caviar to replace the cherry garnish. This worked a treat and although the caviar tastes a little bit like plastic, it is actually really similar to a cherry.

I also like to shake my Manhattans, I think the process adds a little bit of water to the mix which opens up the rum a little bit more letting the flavours speak for themselves.

Recipe

• 45ml Mount Gay Extra Old
• 25ml Sweet Vermouth
• 3 dashes Angostura Bitters
• 1 bar spoon Maraschino liquer

Shake (to Whitesnake’s Here I Go Again) and garnish with Maraschino caviar and a twist of lemon.

Now it seems like quite an easy thing to make, but I managed to forget it was on the stove and let it reduce down to a very thick treacle like substance. Adding some more water brought the consistency back but the flavour was a little bit more bitter than it probably should have been.

I then decided on some sort of rum based cocktail. I’m not entirely sure what to call it but here is the recipe

• 3/4 oz Mt Gay rum
• 3/4 oz Bombay Sapphire
• Half a lime of lime juice
• 3/4 oz homemade ginger syrup

Shake and strain over ice. Top up with soda.

Entertainingly enough the syrup wasn’t the only thing homemade used while making this, I dropped (and broke) the only boston in the house so I had to use a coffee mug as the other side of the shaker.