daiqurbon

The theme for this month's Mixology Monday (MxMo LXXVIII) was picked by Stewart Putney of the Putney Farm blog. The theme he chose was "Intercontinental," and he did not want us to fight for that B-tier Intercontinental Belt but to look to our ingredients. Stewart elaborated on the theme with his description of, "Everywhere we travel these days we see cocktails on the menu. And not just here in the USA, but all around the world. And that's not only the drinks, but the ingredients as well... So let's celebrate the global reach of cocktails with an "Intercontinental" Mixology Monday challenge. Create a cocktail with "ingredients" from at least 3, but preferably 4, 5, or 6 continents. And if you can include Antarctica, then you get a Gold Star. And remember, sometimes the tools used, glassware, names or back stories of cocktails are important "ingredients." Creativity and a bit of narrative exploration are encouraged."

When I was discussing the theme with Stewart, I mentioned the quirky bottle of Van der Hum spiced tangerine liqueur that we owned. We found this South African spirit at Julio's in Westborough, MA, and only used it to make the Comet from David Wondrich's Killer Cocktails. The other place that I was sure that there were a handful of Van der Hum recipes is William Tarling's Café Royal Cocktail Book. After looking through the options, I selected the curiously named Diaqurbon for it could be finessed into using ingredients from four continents. I found the name strange for their is no lime juice in this mashup of Daiquiri and Bourbon; however, F.G. Hunt, the recipe's creator, meant Daiquiri rum. For that, I decided to use El Dorado 3 Year White Rum since Guyana is in South America (Andrea pointed out to me that the Caribbean islands are not truly considered part of any continent except for political means, so those rums would be confusing). Clearly, the Bourbon I selected was going to be North American by definition, and with such a small portion of the drink, I opted for the punchy and overproof Fighting Cock. For the fourth continent, I went European with Dolin Dry Vermouth. I guess for a fifth continent, I did stir the drink in my Japanese mixing glass. Australia and Antarctica, I salute you but unfortunately left you off the docket.

Daiqurbon
• 1/2 Daiquiri Rum (2 oz El Dorado 3 Year)
• 1/4 Van der Hum (1 oz)
• 1/8 Bourbon (1/2 oz Fighting Cock)
• 1/8 Dry Vermouth (1/2 oz Dolin)
Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. I strained this into a pair of small vintage glasses.

The Daiqurbon greeted the nose with a tangerine peel and Bourbon nose. While the sip offered dry wine, caramel, and malt notes, the swallow began with the rum and whiskey and ended with a tangerine and vanilla finish. Andrea thought that the ingredients could make for a good Scaffa (a room temperature, undiluted cocktail); perhaps if the rum and Van der Hum proportions were swapped, it would be.
Thanks to Stewart for hosting this event and getting me to dust off a lesser used bottle on my shelf, and thanks to all of the MxMo participants for keeping this event going month after glorious month. Cheers!