Castro’s Christmas Nightcap
Last week was Thanksgiving and now we’re deep into the holiday season. That means that this weekend is the first official weekend of holiday parties. I know because we always have one. See, we don’t want to compete with office parties which always seem to be in the middle of the month, so we have ours the first Saturday of December. But we’re not the only people celebrating. Celebrations are happening all over, and they’re not limited to house parties, restaurants and bars are getting in on the festivities as well. They have special menus just for this festive season.
One such restaurant is Salt in Marina del Rey. They’re doing cocktail classes called Merry Time on the Marina. During the class, you get to taste their merry cocktails, while learning how to make them at the same time. As the cocktail maven that I am, I was so excited to try both the drinks and my hand at mixing them up. While I didn’t get to sample all the cocktails on Salt’s holiday menu, I did get to try two of them: The Leg Lamp and Castro’s Christmas Nightcap. They were both delicious, but my favorite was far and away the Christmas Nightcap.
Now, I know I don’t usually post modern day drinks, but this little tipple sent me over the moon. So much so, I asked for the recipe. See, I can’t imagine going the rest of December without another sip. And since I can’t go out every night, now that I have the recipe, I don’t have to. I can enjoy this amazing drink in the comfort of my own home. Sure, I won’t have the amazing marina view that Salt has, but at least I’ll have this delectable cocktail.
Made with aged rum, vanilla syrup and a smoking cinnamon stick, this drink is the perfect holiday cocktail. It’s sweet, smooth, rich and the ideal nightcap. The vanilla syrup really highlights the caramel and vanilla flavors in the rum. But it’s the smoking cinnamon stick that really puts this drink over the top. That little smoking stick not only gives the allusion of Castro’s cigar, it permeates the whole cocktail with a cinnamon smokiness that makes this one hell of an after-dinner drink. It’s soooo good in fact, you won’t even need dessert.
Ingredients
- 2 ounces aged rum
- 1/2 ounce vanilla syrup
- 1/2 ounce Biscotti liqueur
- 2-3 dashes cardamom bitters
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a mixing glass. Add ice and stir until chilled. Strain into a rocks glass with a large ice cube.
- Burn the end of a cinnamon stick until glowing. Put it out in the glass and serve.
