kingston negroni

1 oz Smith & Cross Rum
1 oz Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth (Noilly Prat)
1 oz Campari

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with ice, and garnish with an orange twist.

After having made the Pineapple Kingston Negroni the night before, I was reminded that I have never written up the original. An Aperol riff, the Kingston Contessa, created at Eastern Standard as a take on No. 9 Park's Contessa, was the closest thing that I could refer to. Therefore, I sought out the recipe crafted by Joaquin Simo in the Death & Co. Cocktail Book; in 2009, Haus Alpenz's Eric Seed handed Joaquin the newly launched Smith & Cross Rum bottle, and this came about five minutes later. It was a simple Mr. Potato Head technique of this high ester rum in place of the gin. He attributed the success of the combination in Punch Drinks as, "Smith & Cross is no shrinking violet, so it stands up to the bombastic chocolate and bitter orange notes in the vermouth while drying out the Campari's richness and tempering its bitterness. Further evidence that less can sometimes be quite a bit more."The Kingston Negroni began with orange oil over rum funk aromas. Next, the sweet vermouth's grape filled the sip, and the swallow followed through with funky rum, bitter orange, and dark berry flavors.