Corn N’ Oil

My fleeting (and sometimes enduring) obsessions over certain ingredients or recipes or techniques is well known to those around me. I accept it as part of my personality (is it the flaky Gemini in me, flitting from this thing to that?). Travel usually spurs a new interest, and our latest trip to Grenada and Barbados was no exception. This time, though, it’s cocktails.

We’re not big drinkers, but I rarely turn down an interesting cocktail. So when the woman working at one of the rum distilleries we visited in Barbados (Foursquare) offered to make us a traditional Bajan drink, we couldn’t refuse. There’s not much to it. Equal amounts of Falernum (a sweet syrup used as a mixer – this one has rum and flavors of almond, ginger and cloves, and lime) and rum (nothing fancy, any basic dark rum will do), plus a couple of dashes of Angostura bitters (the new love in my life). That’s it. The main variation is to change up the ratio of run to Falernum – we prefer a 3:1 ratio so it’s a bit sweet. It’s unique and really refreshing and is going to become a regular cocktail in this house.

And the glasses we used – I don’t know where they originally came from, but they belonged to my grandparents, and when they died I inherited them. I love the flair on the glasses, and every time we use them I have fond memories of my grandparents.

• Corn N’ Oil (Cocktail Chronicles)