Especial Day
Blackberries must be in season somewhere in the world right now, as the supermarkets are currently packed with them at pretty reasonable prices. I thought it would be rude not to take advantage of this, so tonight armed with a fresh punnet of blackberries I went in search of a cocktail that made good use of them. The drink I went for comes from Difford’s Guide and was created in 2005 by Tonin Kacaj at Maze here in London.
Especial Day
- 2 shots white rum
- 3 fresh blackberries
- ¾ shot Crème de Mûre
- ½ shot sweet vermouth
- ½ shot pineapple juice
- 3 dashes Peychaud’s Aromatic bitters
- Muddle blackberries in shaker, then add other ingredients and shake well with ice. Fine strain in to a cocktail glass, garnish with more blackberries.
The Especial Day is a bit of an oddball, both fruity and aromatic at the same time, and with a complex mixture of flavours. It has a light, fruity-floral start with the vermouth and rum working well together and blending nicely with the blackberries. The finish is slightly sweet, with Peychaud’s obvious in the background. Overall an interesting cocktail, but one I couldn’t quite make my mind up about. Further tastings are in order, and perhaps experimentation with different bitters…
Posted in Aromatic Bitters, Blackberry, Crème de Mûre, Pineapple, Recipes, Rum, Vermouth
If you liked this, the barman recommends...
December 12th, 2007 at 9:58 pm
My favourite cocktail I had with blackberries was dubbed “english caipirinha”
big measure of gordons
half a lime, quartered
a few blackberries
spoon of brown sugar
muddle and use cracked ice as you would a caipirinha…!
I drank about 5 over a game of rounders last summer. spiffing.
love your blog by the way.
December 13th, 2007 at 6:52 pm
Very nice foto.
But I am embarassed, in which way this bary stand on rim???
December 13th, 2007 at 7:49 pm
Sounds nice Anthony – I will have to pick up some more blackberries and give it a try.
Scomorokh – magic and witchcraft is the answer! In truth, I only had short cocktail sticks to hand, so I skewered the berries on one, then simply balanced that on the edge of the glass for the photo.
Not the most practical of garnishes – I’d recommend using a large cocktail stick and just resting the edges of that on the rim in “real life”…
February 2nd, 2011 at 1:40 am
Try a Bramble, by far my favourite drink and made with blackberry liqour!