zulia garden cocktail

2 oz Bacardi Silver Rum
1 oz Dolin Dry Vermouth
1/2 oz Cherry Heering
2 dash (1/4 oz) Grenadine
1 tsp Lime Juice
1 tsp Egg White
1 tsp Rich Simple Syrup (2:1)

Shake once without ice to emulsify the egg white, and once with. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with a cherry.

On Monday, we paid a visit to Dalí in Somerville to visit Greg Rossi who has revamped their cocktail menu. Revamped might not do it justice since it went from four drinks or so to a full page of original and classic cocktails. The two cocktails I had that evening were taken from the pages of the rare and out of print Charles H. Baker, Jr.'s South American Gentleman's Companion. The drink I started with was served to Baker at the Zulia Garden Club in Maracaibo, Venezuela in 1948. The curious red potion was topped with a light froth from the egg white and started with a fruity nose from the cherry liqueur and grenadine. The sip contained a cherry flavor mixed with a vague fruitiness; in addition, it had a delightful crispness from the lime and dry vermouth, and this was followed by the rum on the swallow. Since I lack this volume of Baker's writing, I have no further history about this drink or whether the recipe served to me was true to the text (some of Baker's recipes can be finessed into tastier drinks with a little adjustment).