Welcome To Wonkette Happy Hour, With This Week's Cocktail, 'Ti Libre!

Celebrate a little freedom on the Fourth of July.

There is nothing like a cigarillo and great rum on a scorchingly hot day.

Greetings, Wonketeers! I’m Hooper, your bartender. I was recently given an exceptionally good bottle of Puerto Rican rum and asked to make a cocktail out of it. I came up with an extremely minimalist take on a Cuba Libre, or a maximalist take on a ‘Ti Punch. Either way, this rum is an utter delight. Let’s grab a cigarillo, sit outside in the scorching heat, and enjoy a ‘Ti Libre. Here’s the recipe.

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‘Ti Libre

3 oz Ron del Barrilito Three Stars Puerto Rican Rum

1 barspoon cola syrup

Thin lime wedge

Squeeze the lime wedge into a chilled double rocks glass. Add the rum and cola syrup. Swizzle the rum and syrup until the syrup has fully dissolved. Add ice and sip gently.

Cola Syrup

1 cup Boylan Cane Syrup Cola

Pour the cola into a saucepan over low heat. Bring the cola to a low simmer for 30-45 minutes, until it’s reduced by ⅔. Let cool to room temperature. Keeps 1 month in the fridge in a sealed bottle.

I associate Puerto Rican rum with Bacardi simply because of volume and experience. But Ron del Barrilito is the real deal, dating back to 1880. The Bacardi family are relative newcomers to Puerto Rico, abandoning Cuba when Castro had some very bad ideas about who should be in charge of Bacardi. (I absolutely must stop and recommend Bacardi and the Long Fight for Cuba, by Tom Gjelten (Wonkette affiliate link). It’s an astonishing history of rum, Cuba, and modern Caribbean history.)

Ron del Barrilito is a fantastic sipping rum; tasted neat, I find sherry, raisin, oak, toasted molasses, and green banana flavors in the spirit. There’s so much going on in this glass that I hesitated to do much with the liquor. Some bottles are meant to be used in cocktails; some are meant to be curated. This spirit could easily do both.

Initially, I tried making a ‘Ti Punch with the Ron del Barrilito. ‘Ti Punch is a Jamaican classic — cold rum, a pinch of sugar, and the tiniest wedge of lime imaginable, stirred together and drunk neat. The result wasn’t satisfactory. Puerto Rican rum isn’t Jamaican rum; the flavor profiles are very different, and the touch of sugar wasn’t doing the sherry-cask-aged rum any favors. But I loved the minimalism of the ‘Ti Punch recipe. It’s the rum equivalent of the Old Fashioned in some ways — a supremely minimalist cocktail, just a little “salt and pepper on the steak,” a tiny amount of flavor to draw out the best qualities of the core spirit. But the Ron del Barrilito needed something that respected the bottle’s Puerto Rican origins. Plain sugar wasn’t cutting it.

I love Cuba Libres, aka a rum and Coke. I usually pour one for myself after a long shift at the bar. Spanish-style rum and cola are fantastic together; the cola’s subtle bitterness and citrus combine with the rum’s subtle Puerto Rican spices like nothing else in the world. I decided to make a super-minimalist version of a Cuba Libre by reducing my favorite all-natural cola down to a syrup. A whisper of cola, a tiny amount of lime juice, and a beautiful American rum. What could be better on a hot summer day?

Let’s talk ingredients:

Ingredient shot. The little jar is a full cup of cola, reduced.

Ron del Barrilito Three Stars: I cannot begin to tell you how beautifully this spirit hit when I tried it “in terroir” — on my back porch, in the sweltering heat of July, with good tobacco smoke curling around me. It stops becoming a drink and becomes an experience. Take the time to find this spirit. It’s the best bottle I’ve ever tasted out of Puerto Rico, and well worth your time.

Cola Syrup: Please use an all-natural cola like Boylson’s for this. I don’t know how artificial flavors will react to heat; I’ve got more faith in natural oils. Keep reducing the cola on a low simmer until it starts to bubble.

Thin Lime Wedge: A “true” ‘Ti Punch uses a lime “coin” — a slice of lime from the side of the fruit, more rind than pulp, more lime oil than juice. I wanted a touch more lime juice in this glass to balance the sweetness. Use what you like; there are no wrong choices.

Presentation: A chilled glass is a must. ‘Ti Punch is often served neat, but I like a little dilution with this rum (and in this heat, we need all the chill we can muster).

My home bar is Hemingway’s Underground, the hottest cocktail bar in pretty little Medina, Ohio. I’m behind the stick Wednesday-Saturday, 4-10. Last call’s at midnight. Swing on by, and I’ll make a drink for you… or anything else from our little Happy Hour here at Wonkette. We’ll make it through this together.

OPEN THREAD!