Air Mail Cocktail
Now that the world is opening up again, all of us are booking vacations! I mean after being stuck in your house/town for the past 15 months don’t you want to get away? I know I do! It doesn’t matter whether you’re driving or flying, you’ll probably be sending off a post card or two, something I always do when I go on vacation to a far off land. I love sending postcards and letters while I’m away. There’s something so cool about getting a letter from your favorite person from a far off place. While postcards are awesome, actual letters are even better, especially when it comes wrapped in a cool air mail envelope!
Why am I talking about letters and postcards? Because today’s cocktail is the Air Mail. Now, you may have heard of the new classic, the Paper Plane from 2008, but this lovely little tipple is from the 40’s! And it’s got nothing in common with the new one except that they’re both in the flight category. This is a light, bubbly drink that’s perfect for summer vacations on airplanes! W. C. Whitfield even wrote in his Here’s How cocktail book, “it ought to make you fly high.” After sipping this drink, I can tell you it definitely takes you to new heights. It makes me feel like I’m lounging on a sandy beach somewhere tropical… which makes perfect sense since it’s made with rum.
While most believe that the Air Mail first appeared in Esquire’s 1949 Handbook for Hosts, it actually showed up in print eight years earlier in Whitfield’s cocktail guide, which makes sense since the U.S. Postal Service started using air mail all the way back in 1911. The first air mail trip was very short. The flight was a little jump from Santa Rosa to Petaluma, California and had only three letters on board. I know that doesn’t seem like that big a deal today, but back in 1911, it was a huge accomplishment.
Made with honey, lime, rum and champagne, the Air Mail could be considered a high class daiquiri or a tropical spin on the French 75, two cocktails I just happen to adore. I mean, it’s got champagne! Everything is always better with champagne! Champagne means tons and tons of bubbles, and there’s nothing better during the summer than cocktails with a little sparkle. They’re not only more fun, they taste lighter thanks to all that effervescence. Those bubbles will definitely make you feel like you’re floating on a cloud high above your destination. So wherever those flights take you this summer, make sure to pack the rum (Cuban is preferred, but any light rum will do), champagne and a postcard or two.
Ingredients
- juice of 1 lime
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1-1/2 ounces rum
- champagne
Instructions
- Pour all ingredients except the champagne in a cocktail shaker. Add ice and shake vigorously until chilled.
- Strain into a highball glass filled with ice. Top with champagne. Garnish with a postage stamp and serve.
