Palmetto – Old Waldorf Bar Days

1 part Gold Rum

1 part Red vermouth 

1 dash orange bitters

Stir and serve with an orange twist

 

Dining at Goat tonight, and decided that tonight was definitely a pre-dinner drink.

Its also the first time I’ve used my copy of ‘old Waldorf Bar days’ for my resolution.

This book is one of the most recent I’ve purchased, and I haven’t finished reading through it yet. It’s a charming old book, published towards the end of prohibition, 1931 in New York, at a time when I suspect people had assumed that prohibition wasn’t going to last, that despite its noble intentions it was truly a failed experiment. The book itself is as much about the Waldorf’s bar and its Patrons, as it is about the drinks served, and has some wonderful anecdotes.

I’ve picked this drink as I was planning one eating some of our heavier winter dishes to match the weather outside, I get nostalgic for these dishes at this time of the year as we’re already planning on which ones to drop to make way for lighter spring and summer fare, and I’m sad to see them go.

I had the pork belly followed by the wild mushroom linguine.

This drink looked like the perfect warm heavy winter starter, the rich red vermouth pairs wonderfully with the rum, we’ve used our house rum, the 5-7 year old Barcelo, this has just enough flavour and age to pair with the vermouth without dominating its more subtle flavours, and it doesn’t taste too much of oak.

There’s a classic drink called an El Presidente from Cuba, this drink always appeals to me when I read it, but I’m always let down by the taste, I always think it should taste like the Palmetto does.

The Palmetto is a great drink, the Waldorf has not let me down.