Cienfuegos Shake
Recipe:
- 60ml El Dorado 15yo
- 30ml fresh lime juice
- 22.5ml simple syrup
- 15ml Bénédictine D.O.M.
- 3 dashes Angostura bitters
- 6 fresh mint leaves
In the shaker tin, gently muddle the mint with the simple syrup, wait for 3-5 minutes, add the other ingredients. Shake everything on ice until sufficiently chilled, double strain into your prechilled coupe of choice.
Another drink from "Cuban Cocktails" by Ravi DeRossi, Jane Danger and Alla Lapushchik. And one of my favorite daiquiri variations at that.
You don't have to go with El Dorado 15: it's a chocolaty, woody Demerara rum with some dried fruit here and there, if you're looking for something "similar" for the drink (but nothing overly blackstrap-like like OFTD or Cruzan, please).
On the nose you get dried fruits like apricot and peach, dried lime peel, fine oak and tobacco, nice delicate mint. It tastes dry and slightly refreshing and sweet at the same time, apricots, toffee, fresh sugar cane, sweet tobacco and fine oak, then comes great subtle mint and then in the last third great candied and at the same time fresh lime, in the finish again sugar cane, vanilla, apricot and delicate oak with beautiful mint.
Although not really used anymore as a category, a "shake" consisted back then of a dark spirit (e.g. often bourbon and cognac), plus lime and sugar.
Fantastically silky, fresh and sweet at the same time, you really have a great flavor journey before you.
Source: “Cuban Cocktails” by Ravi DeRossi, Jane Danger and Alla Lapushchik, p. 131
