Sunday, May 15, 2016

cuban crusta

1 jigger Bacardi (1 1/2 oz Seleta Gold Cachaça)
Juice 1 Lime (3/4 oz)
1 tsp Grenadine (1/2 oz)
1 dash Curaçao (1/2 oz Senior)
White of 1 Egg

Shake once without ice and once with ice, and strain into a glass crusted with sugar. I added a long lime peel around the top interior diameter; as an afterthought, freshly grated nutmeg or a few droplets of aromatic bitters would not be out of place here on the egg white froth.

A few Saturdays ago, I was perusing Pioneers of Mixing at Elite Bars: 1903-1933 when I spotted another curious Crusta recipe that included egg white like the Niagara Crusta from that same tome. And like a few other Crusta recipes in that book, this one also left out the bitters that seemed to be a hallmark feature of classic Crusta recipes. Regardless, it seemed worthy of a try even if it was an outlier for a few reasons.
The Cuban Crusta shared a lime and grassy nose. Next, a creamy pomegranate and lime sip led into grassy rum and orange flavors. While looking at the drink photographs, I realized that freshly grated nutmeg or perhaps a few droplets of Angostura Bitters on the egg white froth surface would not be out of place here. Plus, the bitters garnish would add back an element that I found missing from the classic formula.

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