Tery Vasty!

Bum & Ritters.

One of my favourite cocktails is the Bin & Gitters which I wrote about here some six years ago and recently thought to make a rummy version of because, after all, one good spoonerism deserves another. Once rum  is subtitutificated for gin we are left with lime juice, sugar syrup and a heavy float of bitters all over crushed ice. Which already sounds very Tiki. Leaning into this I experimented with switching the sweet component for some more interesting syrups and liqueurs and along the way enjoyed many a tasty beverage. However many seemed to close to existing drinks including my own Frigate Bird. I finally settled on ginger syrup which has a nice relationship with rum and also my taste-buds. Ginger might not be for everyone and I would encourage you also to play around with the sweet until you find a syrup, liqueur or, better still a combination which pleases your taste-buds. This is also an opportunity for those early in their cocktail journey to get used to the cocktail creation game which is, in any case, largely facilitated by riffing on existing recipes. And, should you find such satisfaction please feel free to report your version in the comments below. There’s not much more to say about this and it is the middle of summer so instead of sitting indoors writing more needless twaddle I’ll be toddling off to do some nice summery things. See you all next month!

Bum & Ritters.

2oz / 60ml dark Jamaican rum (I recommend my own blend but whatever).

1oz / 30ml fresh lime juice.

1oz / 30ml ginger syrup.

Shake with ice and strain into a Fouble Old Dashioned glass packed full with crushed ice.

Float 3 – 8 dashes of Angostura bitters on top (depending on how daring you are). Stir slightly. Or not. I did a bit this time in the picture above.

Serve with a straw as it’s best enjoyed from the bottom up.

Toast William Archibald Spooner (1844 – 1930).