Tuesday, April 5, 2011

j.r.t.

2 oz Ron Diplomatico Rum Reserve
1 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Housemade Allspice Dram
1/2 oz Burnt Cinnamon Syrup

Shake with ice and strain into a rocks glass containing one large ice cube. Freshly grate nutmeg over the top and add a pinch or two of ground mace to the top of the ice cube. Add a straw.

For my second drink at Clio last Wednesday night, bartender Todd Maul wanted to make me the J.R.T. off of the new Spring cocktail menu. Luckily, I asked Todd what the initials stood for instead of trying to guess later if he had a fascination with Jack Russell Terriers or other. The name is a series of initials standing for John, the regular for whom the drink was made, Randy Wong, the creator of Clio's allspice dram and other recipes, and Todd Maul himself.
The nutmeg and mace aromas greeted me before I took a taste of this Tiki number. While nutmeg and mace come from the same fruit, mace is the outer covering of the nutmeg seed and packs a more potent punch and reddish hue. Once I did take a sip, it was full of a semi-sweet lime flavor that paired well with the caramel richness from the aged rum. Moreover, these notes were chased by the spice from the cinnamon syrup and allspice dram on the swallow. The spice quotient was augmented over time as the nutmeg and mace notes dissolved into the drink.

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