I picked up this and the recipe below (Swafford) in the Nov. ‘08 issue of Imbibe. I loved both so much I had to spread the word. It usually stays mild enough around here that mint can still be harvested from my garden, but if it’s too cold in your parts, you’ll need to buy fresh mint at the market. A holiday hi-ball or old fashioned glass only adds to the fun. It’s minty and tangy at the same time with the maple syrup addition. You’re mixing a real festive cocktail here.

Here we go –

• 8-10 mint leaves
• 6-8 cranberries
• 2 oz Aged Rum (Appleton worked great for me)
• ¾ oz Falernum
• ¾ oz limejuice
• ¼ oz simple or maple syrup
• Splash of club soda

In a mixing glass, muddle mint & cranberries, add rest of ingredients. Shake and strain over ice in a glass and garnish with fresh mint.

Another one of those “be careful” drinks, the Little Devil is a true oldie but goodie. Its citrus-y enough to go down quickly and easily, but there is an alcohol bite that will haunt you going down and later while you’re slurring. This is a drink that lives up to its name.

Here we go –

• ¾ ounce white rum
• ¾ ounce gin
• ½ ounce lemon juice
• ½ ounce Cointreau

Shake with ice ‘til ice cold. Serve up in a cocktail glass. Garnish with lemon peel.

A variation on the traditional daiquiri, I find this drink a bit more complicated on the taste buds (which ain’t always a good thing, but it’s fun here). With the addition of sweet vermouth, and more importantly in my opinion, the kiss of crème de cacao, the drink elevates itself to more than just a warm weather sipper. If you search for it, you’ll find the extremely slight chocolate wash from the crème de cacao combining with the vermouth almost indescribable, yet sensually apparent. I made my first one just a few days ago, and all who joined me outside on an oddly mild January day fell in love with it.

Here we go –

• 1 ½ oz light rum
• ½ oz fresh lime juice
• ½ oz sweet vermouth
• 1 tsp grenadine
• 2 tsp crème de cacao

Shake above ingredients in a shaker till cold and strain into a cold cocktail glass. Garnish with a thin lime wheel.

I’m a fan of the variation, and this drink is just that — a variation of one of the most popular drinks of all time. I’ve always been a rum fan but usually only when diluted with tart or sweet or tonic. The few times I’ve drunk good rum by itself, on the rocks or straight, it has affected me very strongly, and I’ve wound up in drunken situations that can still make me wince if remembered. So, it’s with my strong rum experiences, that I warn you, while tasty, complex, and easily drinkable, I stop after one with a Rum Manhattan. You may not have the same reactions with the cane pulp spirit, so knock yourself out. Here’s a great recipe I recently read in the Washington Post by noted writer and drinker, Jason Wilson.

Here we go –

• 2 oz aged rum (I’m a huge fan of The Appleton Estate Extra 12 year)
• 1 oz sweet vermouth
• ½ tsp maraschino liqueur (I use a full tsp; I like the taste)
• 1-2 dashes of orange bitters

Mix above ingredients with plenty of ice in a glass pitcher or mixing glass. Stir till icy cold. Strain up into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with an orange peel twist.

There are much more complicated and, I’m sure, authentic recipes for this 1957 Honolulu classic, but I’m going with a short and simple one. We’re home bartenders and often make our drinks on the fly and with little fanfare. Sure, if I were out at an authentic tiki bar and was dropping $15 on a drink, I’d insist that proper drink protocol was followed.  But …we’re not at a tiki bar, we’re in our basement bars and we need to make a delicious Hawaiian drink fast ‘cause the poker game’s about to start.

Here we go –

• 1 ¼ oz pineapple juice
• ½ oz passion fruit syrup (available at high-end groceries & liquor stores)
• 2 oz dark rum
• ½ oz lemon juice

Pour ingredients over ice in a highball glass then stir till mixed and frosty. Garnish with a couple speared cherries.

* Originally served with a bamboo backscratcher as part of the garnish, if you have access to a dozen or so un-used ones, it could be a fun addition.

There’s a bar in my neighborhood that charges an arm and a leg for this drink, but they make it properly and it’s so delicious and refreshing that I go there on my birthday and treat myself to a couple. The combination of grapefruit juice and Maraschino liqueur create a flavor, which permeates the drink and is unlike anything booze-related I’ve ever tasted. The flavor stands apart and is lovely on a warm day. We talk about these all the time on the Facebook component of Mr. Booze, and every time we do, the buzz starts. The Papa Doble is like a secret best shared with close friends in a shady bar in July. Of all the variations, this is my favorite daiquiri.

Here we go –

• 3 3/4 oz white or Cuban style rum
• 2 oz lime juice
• 2 oz grapefruit juice
• 1 tsp+ (to taste) Maraschino liqueur
• 1 tsp simple sugar (optional)

Fill a blender ¼ full of cracked ice, add ingredients and blend till the concoction is smooth and light. Pour in tall glass and garnish with a fat lime slice. I’ve also just used a shaker full of ice and strained over rocks in a glass, too.

Doesn’t get more “colorful” than this one. If you’re going for that almost off-worldly, kitschy, hotel-bar vibe, then the Blue Hawaiian’s your drink. Far too blue for a traditional tiki mug, this one’s best served in a tulip style cocktail glass or anything see-thru. You’ll want to show this one off as you’re sipping; kind of like parking a new car in the drive.

Here we go –

• 1 oz Light Rum
• 1 oz Blue Curacao liqueur
• 2 oz Pineapple juice
• 1 oz Crème’ of Coconut

Blend above ingredients in blender with around a cup of cracked ice. Pour into glass and garnish with a pineapple chunk & cherry tooth-picked together.