Art of Choke

Another one from RogueBeta, this was invented at Violet Hour in Chicago. It is a beautiful combination of Cynar, Chartreuse, and mint, turning three strong flavors into a cohesive whole.

1 oz White Rum
1 oz Cynar
1/8 oz Lime Juice
+1/4 oz Green Chartreuse
Mint Sprig

Combine all ingredients in a glass and muddle the mint gently. Add ice, stir for 30 seconds and strain into an ice-filled down glass. Garnish with a mint sprig

Mojito

Like the margarita and the martini, the mojito has been the victim of its own success. Thanks to a huge wave of popularity in the early 2000s, the drink has been massacred countless times by poor recipes and/or variations like a mango mojito that most likely use bad artificial flavoring anyway. All this makes it the perfect drink to introduce the proper art of mixology to your friends who don't care to think about such pleasures.

1/2 Lime
8-10 Mint leaves
2 tsp. Granulated Sugar
2 oz White Rum
1 oz Selzer

Combine the limes, sugar, and mint leaves in a glass and muddle until the limes have released their juice and the mint has released its oils. Add ice and the rum and shake for 5-10 seconds. Strain into an ice-filled hi-ball and add the seltzer. Garnish with a mint sprig and serve.

Enjoy.

Mai Tai

I refer to these as "Might Dies" because that's how you feel after a few. Trader Vic, the grandfather of all things tiki, created this drink sometime in the 1940s. Since then, there have been hundreds of variations, most of which suck. The only thing constant between the original and the crap you get served in a tacky Polynesian restaurant is rum. This recipe comes from Robert Hess, and it is a very close approximation of the original.

1 oz White Rum
1 oz Gold Rum
1/2 oz Orange Curaçao
1/2 oz Orgeat syrup
1/2 oz Lime juice
1 oz Dark Rum (float)

The technique here is a little strange. Instead of shaking vigorously and straining, add all the ingredients (except the dark rum) to a rocks glass, fill almost completely with ice. Pour the entire contents of the glass into a shaker and shake for no more than 10 seconds, just enough to mix all the ingredients and give them a good chill. Pour the entire contents of the shaker back into the rocks glass. Float the dark rum on top. Garnish with a sprig of mint, a speared piece of pineapple and maraschino cherry (use the crappy ones here), and whatever else you have lying around.

Enjoy.

Daiquiri

Toby Maloney from the nationally praised Violet Hour in Chicago gave his recipe for this essential rum drink on a message board. I'll let him do the honors on the description, but click through for his full recipe with rum of choice.

2 oz White Rum
3/4 oz Lime Juice
3/4 oz Simple Syrup

Combine in an ice-filled glass and shake for 15-20 seconds. Strain into a cocktail glass, preferably in the sun.

Toby:

Thats it. Nothing but the basics. This is THE hardest drink to make. If it isn't to your taste add a couple of DROPS of lime or simple. This is my desert island drink. It just doesn't get better than this.