voyager

2 oz Rum (Zacapa 23)
1/2 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Benedictine
1/2 oz Falernum (Velvet)
2 dash Angostura Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into an ice filled rocks glass. Garnish with a lime wedge (here we used a lime twist and crushed ice)
On Saturday night, Andrea and I stayed in and made dinner. While dinner was cooking, I flipped through Robert Hess' The Essential Bartenders Guide, a recent purchase from the Boston Shaker's store, and spotted the Voyager. The Voyager is one of Hess' own creations and he describes how Polynesian-inspired restaurants are like mini-vacations (hence, the name) and how this drink is his take on the classic Tiki drink. One thing we liked about the cocktail was that for a Tiki drink, it was relatively dry. The Voyager was very richly flavored in part from our rum choice of the spicy Zacapa 23 Year Old rum and in part from the Benedictine pairing well with the falernum and lime. Also, we opted for a lime twist instead of a lime wedge since the drink had plenty of lime juice already and I wanted to try out my new channel knife (3rd one works like a charm -- finally one that works great!).

Also, please watch Robert Hess make his own drink here.