MxMo VII: The Hurricane Gordon
What a difference when I manage to get my photographer and natural-born food stylist husband to contribute, no?
After my last hurricane-based concoction, I decided that the cocktail would benefit from some grenadine, both to red it up a bit and make it less unappealingly brown, and to add a little sweetness. My hunch paid off. Just a small amount of grenadine created a much more balanced drink: Fruitier, less tart and with a mellowing effect on the boozy burn of rum.
Again, I made my own sour mix, and this time I made my own grenadine as well. No doubt if you used commercial grenadine (and if you do, be sure to get real grenadine and not the carcinogenic red-dyed corn syrup that passes in most home bars), undoubtedly the end result would be even redder and sweeter than mine.
I'm tagging this post for the current Mixology Monday event. The theme is Goodbye, Summer, and I can think of nothing that heralds the finality of summer like hurricane season. As I noted last time, there are at least as many variations on the hurricane cocktail recipe as there are hurricanes themselves, so I dubbed my previous cocktail the Florence, as that was the active hurricane at the time. Now, a new variation merits a new name, so I'll call this one the Gordon just in time for him to expend his last fierce breaths like the Big Bad Wolf of the Atlantic. Recipes after the jump.
Hurricane Gordon
1.5 oz light rum
0.5 oz dark rum
1.5 oz passion fruit juice
1.5 oz sour mix (see recipe below)
0.5 oz quality grenadine (see recipe below)
lime wheels
maraschino cherries
Pour rums, juice, sour mix and grenadine in a shaker or pint glass, stir to mix and pour over ice in two rocks glasses. Garnish with lime wheel and maraschino cherry. Paper umbrella optional but really adorable.
Sour Mix
1 c. water
1 c. sugar
1 c. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 c. freshly squeezed lime juice
Add sugar to water in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved and solution is clear. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Add to lemon and lime juice, stir to blend and refrigerate until ready to use.
Grenadine
I used the "hot method" from Cocktail Chronicles (via Married ...with Dinner); the cold method may yield a brighter, sweeter grenadine.
2 c. pomegranate juice
1 c. sugar
Bring juice to a boil over medium heat, then simmer until reduced by half. Add sugar, stir to dissolve. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Optionally add some vodka as a preservative. Keep refrigerated. (I've got mine in a mason-top bottle.)