sunshine

1 oz Light Rum (El Dorado 3 Year)
1 oz Dry Vermouth (Noilly Prat)
1/2 oz Crème de Cassis (G.E. Massenez)
1/2 oz Lemon Juice

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Two Wednesdays ago, I took out Cocktail: The Drinks Bible for the 21st Century book to read what Paul Harrington had to say about the Floridita. Afterward, I turned the pages and spotted the Sunshine which reminded me of a rum and vermouth version of the gin-based Mississippi (or Missouri) Mule. That Mule is unrelated to the ginger beer and lime juice Moscow Mule family but falls in the Daisy one with crème de cassis as the sweetener. Wondrich discussed the Sunshine in Esquire and provided a wide variety of recipe combinations using that name. He attributes the name to people's imagination of Florida and its tan-inducing beaches.
The Sunshine began with the aroma of lemon oil and cassis' currant notes. The sip was fruity with lemon and an almost pomegranate flavor, and the swallow was a combination of the rum and cassis that dried out in the end with the French vermouth's notes. Indeed, the Sunshine was reminiscent of the El Presidente given the rum and dry vermouth base albeit with different fruit flavors.