Signature Cocktail Secrets by Susan Campbell Creating signature cocktails has virtually become a competitive sport among this island’s best bartenders in both beach bars and fine restaurants. Let’s get some insight into the secrets of how they make such unique and delicious drinks. Recipe for success
The original Caribbean signature cocktail is the rum punch, a potent concoction hailing from 18th-century Jamaica. It has gone through many incarnations and name changes, but the 100-year-old rhyme that resonates throughout the Caribbean to aid in its making still rings true today. It goes like this: “One of sour, two of sweet, three of strong, and four of weak.” The “sour” is lime juice, the “sweet” is cane sugar, the “strong” is rum, and the “weak” is water and
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ice, though the variations over the years have made the “weak” pineapple or orange juice or both, and cane sugar is often substituted with grenadine or simple syrup (sugar and water boiled down to create a thick liquid sweetener). Either way, what makes this original punch so popular is the balance. All great signature cocktails need a good balance whether sweet, savory or spicy; for every ingredient, there must be a complementary foil. E
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