The Brass Lantern
A shaken sour of aged rum, fresh lime juice and a house toasted-spice demerara syrup with aromatic bitters, served up in a coupe with orange oil and nutmeg.
Ingredients
- 2 oz / 60 ml Aged rum, 5 to 8 years, 40 to 43% ABV
- 0.75 oz / 22 ml Lime juice, fresh
- 0.75 oz / 22 ml Toasted-spice demerara syrup (house, 1:1)House recipe in the batching and preparation notes. Linked to the cinnamon syrup entry because plain cinnamon syrup is the closest off-the-shelf stand-in.
- 2 dashes Angostura aromatic bitters
- Technique
- Shaken
- Glass
- Coupe
- Ice
- Served up
- Prep
- 5 min · Intermediate
- Garnish
- Wide orange peel, expressed and floated; a light grating of fresh nutmeg.
- Approximate strength
- about 18% ABV in the glass
- Allergens
- None listed
Method
Fill a coupe with ice and water, or place it in the freezer, so it is cold by the time the drink is ready.
Chill the glass; a lantern is only as good as the pane it shines through.
Measure the rum, lime juice, toasted-spice syrup and bitters into a shaker tin.
Metal, flame, oil and wick, each poured in turn.
Fill the tin two-thirds with cubed ice, seal, and shake hard for 10 to 12 seconds until the outside of the tin frosts.12 sec
Shake until the tin is too cold to hold; the light has to be struck, not coaxed.
Empty the coupe, then double strain the drink through a fine mesh strainer into it so no ice shards cloud the surface.
Strain it clear. Brass only glows when the glass is clean.
Cut a wide strip of orange peel, express the oils over the surface skin side down, then float the peel on the drink.
Orange oil on the surface, a small flame catching.
Grate a small amount of fresh nutmeg over the center of the drink, three or four passes on a fine grater, and serve at once.
A dusting of nutmeg, the last thing the galley cook does before the lamps go down.
Flavor notes
Oak and dried fruit from the rum on the nose with nutmeg and orange oil; toasted cinnamon and allspice through the middle; lime holds the finish clean. Medium sweetness with the 1:1 syrup; if you make the syrup 2:1, pull it to 0.5 oz.
Substitutions
- Toasted-spice demerara syrup: Plain cinnamon syrup, same measure, plus 1 extra dash of Angostura · Loses the allspice and anise depth; the extra bitters put some of the spice back.
- Aged rum: Dark rum (Jamaican or Demerara style), same measure · Heavier and more molasses-led; consider cutting the syrup to 0.5 oz (15 ml) because dark rums often carry more sweetness.
- Lime juice: Lemon juice, same measure · Softer and rounder; the drink moves toward a whiskey-sour shape and loses some of its tropical edge.
Without alcohol
Shake 2 oz (60 ml) of a zero-proof dark spirit alternative (a molasses or oak-styled one) with 0.75 oz (22 ml) lime juice, 0.5 oz (15 ml) toasted-spice syrup, 0.5 oz (15 ml) cold black tea and 2 dashes of a zero-proof aromatic bitters for 10 seconds, double strain into a chilled coupe and finish with orange oil and nutmeg. The tea stands in for the tannin and grip that the rum's oak would bring.
Batching
House toasted-spice demerara syrup (the one house preparation in this drink): crack 2 cinnamon sticks, and put them in a dry pan with 1 teaspoon whole allspice berries, 4 whole cloves and 1 star anise. Toast over medium heat, shaking the pan, for 2 to 3 minutes until fragrant and just darkened; do not let the cloves scorch. Add 1 cup (240 ml) water and 1 cup (200 g) demerara sugar, bring to a simmer, stir until the sugar dissolves (about 2 minutes), remove from heat, cover and steep 45 minutes, strain through a fine mesh, bottle and refrigerate; keeps about 3 weeks. Batch for 8 drinks: 16 oz (480 ml) aged rum, 6 oz (180 ml) toasted-spice syrup and 16 dashes Angostura (about 0.5 oz / 15 ml) can be bottled together and kept refrigerated for a month; add 6 oz (180 ml) fresh lime juice on the day, within 4 hours of service, and shake each 3.5 oz (105 ml) portion to order. Do not pre-dilute a shaken sour; the texture comes from the shake.
Aged rum, toasted spice and lime, shaken and served up
Every expedition carries one lantern that outlasts the rest, brass gone dull at the handle, glass still clear. This is that light in a coupe. Aged rum gives the metal: oak, dried fruit and a little molasses. A syrup of spices toasted in a dry pan before they ever meet sugar gives the glow, cinnamon and allspice with a trace of clove and anise. Lime keeps the flame honest. Shaken hard, strained bright, finished with orange oil and a shaving of nutmeg so the first breath smells like a ship's galley at dusk.