welcome friends welcome back to cocktails after dark where I am
exploring different cocktails and mixing them in different ways to try and find
it what I like and hopefully you're getting something out of it too
today we're going to do a cocktail from 1934 called the Eclipse number two and
it is rum chartreuse and lemon juice and the recipe is a little ambiguous it
calls for a light Cuban rum or just a brown rum so today I'm going to use
havana club and this Angostura 1919 Rum and I'm gonna see how what the flavour
difference is so it starts out this is a shake and drink you need an ounce and a
third of rum 2/3 ounce of chartreuse and
2/3 ounce of lemon juice ice the tip and shake the ice out of the glass you
always want to chill your glassware and we are going to double strain this and
the color here looks fantastic now this gets a cherry for garnish but I'm gonna
wait until both cocktails are made before I put that in now on to the one
with Angostura and of course this one is exactly the same
for truce and lemon juice ice the tin and shake ditch the ice out of the glass
and double string now both of these get a cherry
so there you go the same cocktail the Eclipse number two made with two
different rums our rum from Cuba and a rum from Trinidad and Tobago I try the
one from Trinidad and Tobago first let's see what we get so on the nose hints of
lemon I'm not getting much of the chartreuse coming through because
there's not very much sure truce in it but I do get a sniff of the rum no let's
try the other one
okay one more just for good measure
maybe no and maybe the one that I made with the Angostura just comes off as how
do I say it not pleasant not pleasant at all really isn't Pleasant it's not
balanced there's a super bitter sharp flavor that cuts through that just kind
of makes the inside of my mouth go what is that I think I mean if I'd ordered
that at a bar I probably wouldn't finish it I'd um I'd order a beer to clean my
palate this one I don't know if I'd order in a second time either but it is
it is more balanced there's just a tiny hint of rum flavor you get the
botanicals from the chartreuse coming through a tiny bit of the tank from the
lemon in there just to brighten up all of the flavors not getting any sweetness
from the garnish the maraschino cherry and whatever syrup drop it in the glass
isn't mixed through at this point so I'm not getting anything from that which I
wouldn't expect to until you get down to the bottom of the glass that's where
you're gonna start to get those flavors so I think I might I might order this
one a second time to give it another chance and I might order this a second
time and look at the bartender if he had made it with the Havana Club and say
let's try a different room and see if we get a better experience and I'm kind of
surprised by the Angostura is the Angostura the rum on its bone is a rum
that I kind of enjoy you know I'm not a huge rum drinker but I've always found
the Angostura to be kind of pleasant and the Havana Club
he is the kind of room that you that you mix with it isn't to me a cocktail room
so just on their own yeah on its own that's a wonderful rum spiciness a
little bit of sweet everything that you would expect from a rum a little bit of
barrel let's and the Havana Club on the nose I don't get anything from the
Havana Club it's it's it's almost like the glass is empty yeah complete
reversal on its own I would choose the Angostura it is pleasant its rounded
it's got a full flavor the Havana Club is lacking a little bit and it's got a
bit of an aftertaste that I don't like but that just goes to show how when you
start to mix the ingredients differently they come together in different ways and
so where you know you might be screaming at the screen saying oh that rum or gin
or the vodka or whatever is horrible in a particular mix of ingredients it may
shine it may be the right one it may not be the right one for every cocktail and
that's part of what I'm trying to explore here so in this instance I would
say advantage Havana Club I would make this again try different rum and see if
it would make it better but of these two Havana Club wins I hope you got
something out of that thanks for stopping by see you again soon
you