three mile limit cocktail

2/3 Brandy (1 1/2 oz Courvoisier VS Cognac)
1/3 Bacardi Rum (3/4 oz Privateer Tres Aromatique Overproof White Rum)
1 tsp Grenadine (1/2 oz)
1 dash Lemon Juice (1/4 oz)

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

While looking through my blog archives, I came across the Twelve Mile Limit and realized that I had never made the Three Mile Limit that preceded it. The three mile limit was part of international law that defined a country's territorial waters due to the distance that a cannon could fire upon a target. Cannons could eventually fire further than that, but due to the curvature of the earth, the targets would not be visible on the horizon. The three mile limit was what allowed liquor bootleggers during Prohibition to set anchor and trade close to shore. Harry & Wynn's 1927 Barflies & Cocktails captured that in liquid form as listed above. As Prohibition wore on, the limit got extended to 12 miles out to make smuggling rum and other spirits harder to do. Likewise, a Twelve Mile Limit recipe was added to the drink books that included rye whiskey as a third spirit to the mix and the drink became more rum- than brandy-forward instead. Since the Twelve Mile Limit only seems to shine when a rougher rum is utilized, I opted for a funky local overproof rum to fill the role in the Three Mile Limit, namely a double pot-stilled white overproof rum from Privateer.
Barflies & Cocktails attributed the drink to "Chips" Brighton of Harry's New York Bar in Paris with the description of, "one of the effects of the Volstead act, people get busy when outside of the three miles." Once prepared, the Three Mile Limit Cocktail gave forth a fruity aroma from the grenadine and lemon that was accented by aromatic rum notes. Next, lemon and berry flavors on the sip transitioned into Cognac and funky rum on the swallow. Overall, while not too complex, it did serve as an interesting split-base Daisy that reminded me of Brick & Mortar's Bokemon Daiquiri.