October Favourites

This month was easy to write about. October is one of my favourite months, the nights are getting colder and longer. Perfect for some of those spicy flavours to come back out to play. This month I have a few flavours to play around with, the ones that I have used this month aren’t so intense that you are fooled into thinking its Christmas time, they are still fresh and light.

                

First I went with Santa Teresa Rhum Orange. I done a training session with them a while back so some of the info is coming from that. Part of Santa Teresa (Shock), it is a Venezuelan rum liqueur. The Rhum Orange is also made from Venezuelan oranges, Santa Teresa not only produce their own rum from their own farms, but they also farm their own oranges for this spirit – you know you are at least going to get some consistency with the product. (Santa Teresa also farms its own coffee, just thought I would through that in their.) Venezuela is also very close to the equator and so, it has an almost constant temperature, highs of between 30ºC and 33ºC year round. This constant temperature means that the rum is going to be aged constantly. Unlike in places such as Scotland where the temperature changes all the time, cause the barrel to swell and constrict, causing an uneven ageing process (Not saying thats a bad thing, it works insanely well for whisky). What I like about it though is the smell! Really orangey, but unlike Triple Secs or other orange liqueurs its not sickly sweet. I also find that you get those rum notes through, which makes it very easy to work into drinks.

I used this in my last post with the Pumpkin Spiced Lantern. Which also leads onto my next favourite flavour, cinnamon. In the Pumpkin Spiced Lantern I paired it with Goldschlager, a cinnamon schnapps. This can be strong flavour so I didn’t add too much. I found that that little kick of spice was enough to warm up the drink just enough to reflect the season. Maybe in the next few months I up the cinnamon to really spice up drinks and make them supper Christmassy! Also if you have a cinnamon stick lying around then add it to a Żubrówka and apple, its the new way to serve.

    

Finally, and on more of a somber note, my last favourite this month is Belvedere Black Raspberry. I say somber because Belvedere has actually decided to discontinue the product. This has an intense berry smell and one that carries through even when its mixed. And I know there are lots of berry vodka drinks out there and some of them smell really good as well, but what I found is that Belvedere Black Raspberry follows the sweet smell with a smooth finish, what you would expect from a smooth vodka though. It baffles me why they have stopped producing it, but afraid to let go we have actually ordered more than enough to keep us going for a while! We actually have a cocktail that primarily uses the Black Raspberry – the Berricino, this is a vodka and berry drink with a subtle hint of coffee, fresh but warmed up a little with the coffee. Made by our bar supervisor, Amelia Mann, I will be sad to see this one leave the menu.

The Specs

Berricino

1 ½ shots of Belvedere Black Raspberry

½ shot of Chambord

10ml Kahlúa

2 shots of Cranberry Juice

5 Raspberries

Shaken over ice and double strained into a chilled cocktail glass.

Garnished with 3 Raspberries