Sharkbait’s Cocktail of the Week: Beach Daydreaming

Hello and happy Friday you fine people.

This week has been a bit of a productivity struggle. I mean, let’s be real here. Most weeks are. But this week especially so since I’m now within a month of our trip to the Caribbean in the first week of June. I’ve spent the last few days staring longingly at pictures of the beaches, drinks and the food. The FOOD. If you have a chance to, go visit a French island in the Caribbean. You wont regret it. Your waistline might but, c’est la vie.

What does this have to do with booze? Well getting into the mindset, I’ve been looking more and more into tiki drinks lately. Mainly because they’re different than you average weeknight drink, and they can remind you of warmer places and beach days. Or, at least they do for me anyway. With that in mind, I found an interesting twist on a Gimlet and was intrigued. A gimlet isn’t exactly the first drink that comes to mind when I think tiki, but I suppose there is a first time for everything.

Rangoon Gimlet

1.5 oz. London dry gin
1 oz.  lime juice
1 oz. simple syrup
1 dash Angostura bitters
8 oz. crushed ice

Add all ingredients to a blender jar, and blend until smooth. Pour into a glass, and add additional dash of Angostura on top. Garnish with a cherry, and serve with a straw.

A couple housekeeping notes before we dive in. For the gin, I used my standard Gordon’s London Dry. Also, I didn’t use a blender for this. The reason being I didn’t feel it was worth the trouble of digging it out and then having to clean it again just to essentially crush ice. Instead, I put 8 oz. of ice cubes in a freezer bag, wrapped it in a dish towel and bashed it with a meat tenderizer. A bit more involved than pushing a button, but way more cathartic. Especially if you’ve had a bad day. As to the actual prep, I built the drink in the glass, then topped with crushed ice. I took a barspoon and gave a quick stir or two before adding the second Angostura dash.

There is a slight angostura nose, which definitely adds to the tiki/tropical ness of the drink. I also get some lime in there as well. Not much but it’s there. Not as much as you’d get in a regular gimlet, but I wasn’t expecting that level here.

The sip is sour forward, but it calms down a bit after a few seconds. Even then, it isn’t ‘pucker your lips/face’ sour, but it’s there. Because of the sour flavors, I mainly get the lime flavor up front, with a touch of sweetness underneath from the simple syrup. Of which, the simple syrup is what keeps the lime in check and preventing the aforementioned symptoms of over soured beverages. However it doesn’t over step it’s bounds and go too sweet, which is appreciated. The gin is very well hidden underneath the sour lime and double shot of bitters. I can hardly pick it up, and I’m really looking for it too.

I rather enjoyed this twist. It was refreshing, and would be an excellent choice for a hot day. Especially since the crushed ice would keep it cooler than a regular gimlet served up. I will absolutely make this again. I could even add another half ounce of gin, or even make it weird by adding some light rum.

(Banner image courtesy Matthew Tetrault Photography)