Tuesday, November 9, 2010

leonora banks

1 1/2 oz Banks Rum
1 oz Pineapple Juice
1/4 oz Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
1/4 oz Cinnamon Syrup
2 dash Bittermens Tiki Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a Tiki mug filled with crushed ice. Garnish with freshly grated nutmeg and a straw.

My third cocktail at the Banks Rum event at Drink was bartender Scott Marshall's recipe made for me by the man himself. Scott told me that he based his drink off of the classic Mary Pickford and named it after Joseph Bank's wife Leonora. The rum itself was named after Joseph Banks, a British explorer who gathered botanical samples from around the South Pacific and Caribbean; in addition, his travels are symbolized by the rum choices in the blend. While researching Joseph Banks, I discovered that he married Dorothea Hugessen. The menu did say "Leonora Banks" was the name of the drink, and I just confirmed this with Scott Marshall over the phone. No clue where this transcription error occurred, but the drink was darn tasty so let us not dwell on who Leonora Banks was or how these things happen in rum-muddled environments.
The Leonora Banks' spicy nutmeg floating on the pineapple juice foam was slightly outdone by the aroma of the robust cinnamon syrup in the drink. On the sip, a funky pineapple flavor was followed by the Maraschino and cinnamon notes on the swallow. The combination was unusually flavorful for a Tiki drink, and the Leonora Banks was definitely more intriguing than the Mary Pickford that Scott used as inspiration.

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