Yesterday, I harvested a lot of strawberries, and I wanted to use them in the evening's drink. I didn't want to go for a strawberry daiquiri. The other requirements, just based on what Scott was in the mood for included: no lemon juice and no vermouth. We were also looking at rum or gin drinks.
I thought about trying a Strawberry Mojito, but Scott wasn't so sure about combining mint and strawberry. Plus, I don't think he wanted to mess with the mojito, since it's one of his favorite drinks.
I took some inspiration from The Strawberry Haze and The Champagne and Strawberry Cocktail that I found on Made Man, but I didn't want to crack a champagne bottle. Instead, we decided to go for spiced rum and strawberries. The result of the unstrained strawberry pulp floating in the spiced rum certainly looks like an appropriately Pirate-ish drink to be associated with the Kraken, and the rum is a strong component but it's also fruity.
The Gory Kraken
1/2 tsp sugar
4 strawberries
2oz spiced rum
1 Tbsp simple syrup
1 dash white balsamic vinegar
Muddle the strawberries in the sugar. Add rum, simple syrup and balsamic vinegar. Shake over ice and pour into a rocks glass.
The verdict: I tasted this throughout the process of creating the drink, so I was pretty pleased with the result. Scott thought it was good, too. I think it's a nice balance of the the strawberry and the flavor of the rum, with a little twist from the balsamic to keep it from being too sweet. I started with half the simple syrup, and I wasn't sure I wanted to double it. I could have used a scant tablespoon that would be a tiny bit less sweet. The splash of balsamic also needs to be tiny, and that can be hard not to over do. It should just temper the sweetness, and give a tang, not be enough to be identifiable. The amount should be similar to a couple of dashes of bitters.
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