nuclear daiquiri

3/4 oz Wray & Nephew Overproof Rum
3/4 oz Green Chartreuse
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/3 oz Falernum (Velvet)

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. I garnished with a lime wheel.

For my last drink on Friday night, I selected the Nuclear Daiquiri from the Big Bartender's Book. I had read mention of this drink around the web for a while but the name seemed a little too hokey to try. However, when I finally saw the ingredients, I was definitely game. I am not sure what it is about Chartreuse that makes people think of radiation, but I am reminded of the H Bomb that Josey Packard discovered in Stan Jones' Complete Bar Guide; the H Bomb has both green and yellow Chartreuse along with Bourbon and brandy. The Nuclear Daiquiri was created in 2005 by Gregor de Gruyther at the LAB bar in London a few years before he left this mortal coil, and it packs a wallop of potent Jamaican and Carthusian ingredients.
The Nuclear Daiquiri's nose was filled with the aroma of Wray & Nephew Rum and lime and came across as almost sweet. On the taste, the sip contained the lime juice and funky rum notes, and the swallow was much more intense with the heat and flavors of the two overproof spirits -- the white rum and the herbal Chartreuse. Meanwhile, the falernum donated enough sweetness to soften the drink as well as adding a lingering clove note. While the drink did not disappoint for intensity, it was not as over the top as I first feared for the ingredients seemed to balance each other well. Thinking back to other robust Daiquiri variations, I would have to put the Nuclear Daiquiri in the same family as Ryan Lotz's Haitian Monk (a/k/a the Popa Docquiri) and Scott Holliday's Rude Boy.