lupe velez

1/2 jigger Rum (1 1/2 oz Banks)
1/4 jigger Orange Juice (3/4 oz)
1/4 jigger Kümmel (3/4 oz Helbing)
1 dash Pimento Dram (1/8 oz St. Elizabeth's)

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

For our after dinner drink on Wednesday, I decided to make the Lupe Vélez from Boothby's 1934 World Drinks And How To Mix Them. I had avoided making the drink in the past because it was very similar to the Kingston Heights that I had previously made; however, that was before I was invited aboard this blog so it never formally got entered into the drink registry. Opposed to the more Hispanic named Lupe Vélez, the Kingston Heights' Jamaican theme comes across in its rum choice:

Kingston Heights
• 1 1/2 oz Jamaican Rum
• 1/2 oz Kümmel
• 1/2 oz Orange Juice
• 1 dash Pimento Dram
Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Instead of sticking to a purely Spanish-speaking country of origin for the Lupe Vélez's rum, I decided to use a sample of Banks Rum that I received at Tales of the Cocktail this year. Moreover, I also doubled the volumes that Boothby provided to make a more modern-sized drink.
The drink was named after a Mexican-born dancer, vaudevillian, movie star, and Broadway performer who lived from 1908 to 1944. Lupe Vélez was referred to as "the Mexican Spitfire" and "the Hot Pepper," so a drink spiced with Pimento Dram and kümmel seems quite fitting. Moreover, in retrospect, since I lack a Mexican Rum, the Banks choice was not such a bad one after all.
The drink's nose for me was filled with vanilla notes from the aged rum and allspice from the dram; Andrea, on the other hand, picked up more on the Bank's Batavia Arrack component and on the fruit notes. Taste-wise, a spicy orange sip was chased by rum, the dram's allspice, and the kümmel's caraway on the swallow. Overall, it was not too different from the Kingston Heights save for the lack of the rich, barrel-aged notes from the Appleton we used and with the addition of some funkier rum notes. Moreover, the Lupe Vélez reminded me of the Cure's Spice Trade with its orange and caraway flavors.