Angels Draft - The Bacardi Legacy.

Congratulations to my good friend Matthew Dakers of Mahiki, London who only last week won the Bacardi Legacy UK Final held at the Freemasons Hall, the headquarters of the United Grand Lodge of England and the principal meeting place for Masonic Lodges in London.  Grand Lodge has been in Great Queen Street since 1775, the present Hall being the third building on the site.  The building is a magnificent example of art deco and was a fitting setting for a historic brand such as Bacardi.

Matthew’s drink, Angels’ Draft, was one of 3 drinks that won in 2010, picked from 7 regional winners, with the winning bartenders subsequently being given 1 year to promote their drink and make it into a new classic.  Matthew’s work revolved heavily around cocktail menu listings in great bars in cities such as Barcelona and London.  Scotland was represented by The Courtyard restaurant in Aberdeen and No. 40 cocktail bar in St Andrews.

Here is Matthew’s inspiration for his drink:

I am fascinated by the idea of the 'angels' share', that element of a spirit which evaporates during maturation and is lost from the barrel to who knows where.  When rum is matured in the heat of the Caribbean, as BACARDI Superior rum is, the rate of evaporation is around three to four times higher than in a cold climate like Scotland, so the Bacardi angels must be that much happier.

Ernest Hemingway used to enjoy drinking rum to inspire his writing. I love the idea that he might have appreciated my cocktail as a refreshing draft (inspired by his favourite rum cocktails, Daiquiri No.3 and the Mojito) as much as the rum angels swooping and whirling above his head.  Perhaps it would have moved him to wonderful flights of fanciful prose, hence Angels’ Draft.

Angels’ Draft

40ml BACARDI Superior rum

10ml Yellow Chartreuse

20ml lime juice

10ml honey

10ml egg white

1 dash grapefruit bitters

2-3 mint leaves

Method: Shake all ingredients with cubed ice and fine-strain into a chilled coupette glass, garnish with a grapefruit zest sprayed around the glass and then discard, add a mint leaf to finish.

Editor Note: My opinion on this is that it is a very more-ish drink with a great mouth feel and less sharp than the likes of the Daiquiri.  This is a very accessible cocktail for those who have perhaps avoided the allure of rum in the past.  5/5

Hallelujah! The Mojito's Are On Me...!

Ladies and gentlemen, remember this day.  Bacardi have somersaulted into my good books.  Bacardi was a brand who's stylish ad campaigns (see "True Originals") always impressed me, but the product never did.  Not that it is not a good product, I wasn't sure where it fitted in cocktail-wise as the rum category is amazingly diverse and top-heavy with great brands.

Now, I get it.  The Bacardi Mojito (in a bottle) is the answer to my (and your) prayers.  Next time a chump comes up and asks for 4 mojitos, I'm going whip my bar blade out my pocket and whack off the lids on four of these bad boys.  "There you go.  £24 please."

Now before you start calling me pretentious and a snob, that is not the case at all.  I'll actually enjoy making one of these for the first time in a long-time when someone asks for an Appleton's Mojito, or a Rhum Acricole Mojito.  That shows that someone is drinking something that they didn't just see on a billboard, but can appreciate the fact that the Mojito is indeed a great classic cocktail.  The chump that asks for "4 fajitas" wouldn't know the difference between the contents of this bottle and a finely-balanced labour of love.  I'm going to rep these big-time!  Bacardi, you are back in the circle of trust.

More here: http://barmagazine.wordpress.com/2011/01/21/bacardi-unveils-mojito-and-cuba-libre-in-a-bottle/