soekarno

2 oz Old Monk Rum
1 oz Benedictine
1/2 oz Batavia Arrack
1 oz Lime Juice

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

On Tuesday night after a biotech networking event in town, I crossed the Boston Commons to visit No. 9 Park. Rick Messier was tending bar and the drink I chose off their menu was the Soekarno, an original that I later learned was based off of an older cocktail. The drink was a rather caramel and complex Daiquiri with the richness of the Old Monk Rum and Benedictine appearing early in the sip and the lime and spicy Batavia Arrack flavors appearing at the end of the swallow. Matt Schrage was working the floor that night and stopping by to chat. He gave me the history of Soekarno who was the first president of Indonesia (where the Batavia Arrack is distilled) after the country gained independence from the Netherlands during World War II (Japan's invasion during the war and subsequent defeat assisted this power change). The bartenders at No. 9 Park based the Soekarno drink off of the Petion, named after the first leader of Haiti who like Soekarno had just one name. The Petion uses a Haitian minimally aged cane spirit called clarion (sometimes spelled clairin) which sometimes finds its way into this country. Clarion is apparently a rough and raw rum-like liquor with cachaça, aguardiente, and some strong white rums making good substitutes in its absence. The Petion's recipe is as follows:

Petion
• 3/4 oz Light Rum
• 3/4 oz Benedictine
• 3/4 oz Clarion
• 1/4 oz Lime Juice
• Sugar (to taste)
Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Recipe sourced from CocktailDB.

Cheers to having a bit of world history in one's cocktail!

Note: No. 9 Park's bar has both types of Amer Picon in stock so visit them for your Hoskins and other Amer desires.