Libation Laboratory: Smith and Cross, Pineapple, Acid Phosphate
Last week, we were sipping on some Smith & Cross, discussing how we hadn't made any great tasting cocktails with it yet, and decided to fix that. Joe had procured this particular bottle on his last trip to California, as Smith & Cross can't be found in Washington (yet?). It has a great caramel flavor, with hints of mixed tropical fruits.We both agreed that this rum would taste great with pineapple, but we were tired of mixing tiki drinks. We were also tired of mixing sours, yet we both wanted to add some kind of souring agent. We didn't want to use lemon or lime juices, really, since we felt like either would interfere with the groovy combo of pineapple juice and Smith & Cross. So we turned to an old soda ingredient, acid phosphate, which tastes of nothing, but adds sourness to a drinkFrom there, our opinions differed, and so today we present to you two drinks; variations on the same theme.
La Cruz y Piña1.5 oz Smith & Cross rum.75 oz Pineapple juice.25 oz Cointreau.25 oz Acid phosphate.25 oz Kraken rum (to float on top)Shake, strain, float .25 Kraken rum on top, garnish with blood orange wedges impaled on a sugar cane spear.
James: The acid phosphate does a great job of adding a neutral sourness to the rum and pineapple, but I personally felt like it needed some sort of citrus note, so I settled on using Cointreau. Blood oranges not only look sexy, but their tart aroma and appearance help to emphasize the orange liqueur. Although I was trying not to go tiki, I couldn't help but be inspired by the genre, especially given the ingredients, and so I floated some Kraken on top. It was totally worth it.
The Limeless Lime1.5 oz Smith and Cross1 oz Pineapple Juice.5 oz Falernum (Velvet).5 oz Acid PhosphateShake over ice and garnish with a pineapple fan.
Joseph: I made a pineapple fan by selecting three fronds from a pineapple and pinning them together with a toothpick, if that's not completely obvious. I think it probably is. To be honest, I have overdosed on tiki lately, but the falernum/pineapple/dark rum combo is assuredly a tropical one. What was interesting to me was the way that we are so accustomed to lime in tiki, that I could not help but think of lime, even though I knew there was none. When I first purchased Mr. O'Neil's acid phosphate, I was not entirely sure what to do with it, because I am so used to sourness being conjoined with citrus. I think the real intrigue of acid phosphate is not what it adds to a drink, but what it makes possible to take away.Using acid phosphate is interesting because you can subtract the lemon or lime from any sour drink this way, and simplify it, preserving its balance while emphasizing its aromatic qualities. The orange in James' drink impressed me more than the falernum in mine; both drinks were satisfying, but on the night in question, my mood was more for the fresh flavor of orange rather than the warming and exotic spice of cloves.Have a great weekend, and we'll see you again on Monday!