Presented by Cooks’ World and Pinnacle Wine & Liquor

If you like that classic New Orleans cocktail, the Vieux Carre (and puns), you’ll probably love this boozy drink. It’s pleasantly, tropically aromatic, tasty, and petite enough to fit in a small coupe or Nick and Nora glass. I found this recipe four years ago in Imbibe Magazine, with credit for its invention to Jim Romdall of “Rumba,” a rum bar in Seattle, Washington.

“Rhum Agricole” is a style of rum made from fresh sugarcane juice rather than molasses, typically produced in the French West Indies and other tropical French overseas departments or former French colonies. Aged rhum agricole usually has a grassy and somewhat funky flavor that places its profile (loosely) somewhere between more conventional rums and a Lowlands Scotch whisky. The rhum agricole and Cognac in this drink marry beautifully, and the dash of aged Jamaican rum rounds and softens the mix, with an assist from the Demerara syrup.

RUM WITH A VIEUX
1 oz Aged rhum agricole
1 oz Cognac
¼ oz Aged Jamaican rum
¼ oz Demerara (or turbinado) simple syrup (2 parts sugar to 1 part water)
4 dashes of Peychaud’s bitters
2 dashes of Angostura bitters
2-3 dashes of Absinthe*

*Pinnacle carries 100ml bottles of Absente absinthe at a price under $10. Visit the shop or call (585) 271-4931 to inquire.

Rinse the inside of a chilled mini-coupe or Nick and Nora glass with the absinthe, discard the excess, and set the glass aside while you mix. In a mixing glass, combine and stir the remaining ingredients with ice, then strain the mix into the prepared glass. Twist a peel of lemon zest over the drink to express the oils, then discard the peel and enjoy the drink. 

About our Cocktail of the Week partners—shop local and independent!
Cooks’ World and Pinnacle Wine & Liquor are less than a mile from each other, on Monroe Avenue near Twelve Corners in Brighton.

Cooks’ World, in business since 1978, is Rochester’s premier retailer of dining, kitchen, and cooking products, including a complete selection of glassware, mixology tools, and accessories for wine and spirits lovers. Follow Cooks’ World on Facebook and Instagram. Sign up here to receive Cooks’ World’s daily email specials and other news. 

Pinnacle Wine & Liquor, in business since 1997, offers a thoughtfully curated selection of spirits and wine from around the world, with a savvy staff to assist in your selection and encourage you along your cocktail and wine journey. Follow Pinnacle on Facebook and Instagram. For the inside track on Pinnacle’s spirits sales, send two text messages to (585)765-7546:
— Text the word “bourbon,” to receive weekly text messages offering the chance to buy rare or allocated whiskies or special prices on popular products.
—Text the word “spirits,” to receive roughly monthly offers on fine spirits other than whiskies.

Shout out to the official supplier of elegant clear ice to the Libation Lounge: My friend Ralph DiTucci of Cristallino Premium Ice and Grace & Disgrace.