I returned just over a week ago from a weeklong gastronomic trip to northern Italy where esteemed food writer John Mariani – long of Esquire now of Forbes for his monthly output – was another of the invitees. His preferred pre-prandial cocktail is the classic Daiquiri. So much so, and given the confusion with the frozen version that the name Daiquiri denotes to many and the cocktail’s relegation to the hinterlands of competence for too many establishments before the advent of the craft cocktail craze, Mariani has his preferred recipe printed on his business card that he can offer to a waiter or bartender in case they need some help. Traveling regularly overseas, especially, these can come in handy, and he used one to good effect to start a dinner at an excellent restaurant in Pavia where our group dined for our final meal.
I had read about this business card-cum-cocktail recipe in at least one of Mariani’s pieces in years past and chuckled once again when I actually saw it. I might need to copy the idea in some form in the future, albeit some variation of the Martini. Dropping by Public Services before dinner this past Saturday with the idea of starting with a Daiquiri, I showed the business card / recipe to Justin Vann, the bar’s head and one of the city’s top wine and spirits pros, who mentioned that he had a better Daiquiri recipe. Two, in fact, and asked if I wanted a classic version – which I had had there before and quite enjoyed – or something, “interesting and funky,” I think was the phrase he used.
I decided to give the latter a try, as Public Services has done a terrific job with the numerous of cocktails in a range of styles that I’ve consumed there in recent years. This so-called funky Daiquiri is made with an ounce-and-a-half of Smith & Cross rum and a half-ounce of Plantation Pineapple rum along with the appropriate amount of fresh lime juice and simple syrup, shaken and served in a chilled couple cocktail glass affixed with a wedge of lime. The Smith & Cross is a “funky, Navy-strength pot-still rum from Jamaica” according to its importer that’s popular in tiki concoctions, which provided a very flavorful yet smooth backbone even at 114-proof to the cocktail that was an excellent and balanced blend of tart with some sweet and maybe just a hint of pineapple from the secondary rum to my palate. I didn’t find it too funky. Interesting, certainly, and very enjoyable.
This cocktail is not on the menu. There is not even a name for it. Vann said that he knows it as Marcella’s Daiquiri, seemingly named after the manager there who created it. If you are a fan of Daiquiris, it’s certainly worth a try.
Public Services Wine & Whisky
202 Travis (at Franklin), 77002, (713) 516-8897
publicservicesbar.com
The second image is Marcella's Daiquiri, or the Daiquiri with no name, at Public Services
I had read about this business card-cum-cocktail recipe in at least one of Mariani’s pieces in years past and chuckled once again when I actually saw it. I might need to copy the idea in some form in the future, albeit some variation of the Martini. Dropping by Public Services before dinner this past Saturday with the idea of starting with a Daiquiri, I showed the business card / recipe to Justin Vann, the bar’s head and one of the city’s top wine and spirits pros, who mentioned that he had a better Daiquiri recipe. Two, in fact, and asked if I wanted a classic version – which I had had there before and quite enjoyed – or something, “interesting and funky,” I think was the phrase he used.
I decided to give the latter a try, as Public Services has done a terrific job with the numerous of cocktails in a range of styles that I’ve consumed there in recent years. This so-called funky Daiquiri is made with an ounce-and-a-half of Smith & Cross rum and a half-ounce of Plantation Pineapple rum along with the appropriate amount of fresh lime juice and simple syrup, shaken and served in a chilled couple cocktail glass affixed with a wedge of lime. The Smith & Cross is a “funky, Navy-strength pot-still rum from Jamaica” according to its importer that’s popular in tiki concoctions, which provided a very flavorful yet smooth backbone even at 114-proof to the cocktail that was an excellent and balanced blend of tart with some sweet and maybe just a hint of pineapple from the secondary rum to my palate. I didn’t find it too funky. Interesting, certainly, and very enjoyable.
This cocktail is not on the menu. There is not even a name for it. Vann said that he knows it as Marcella’s Daiquiri, seemingly named after the manager there who created it. If you are a fan of Daiquiris, it’s certainly worth a try.
Public Services Wine & Whisky
202 Travis (at Franklin), 77002, (713) 516-8897
publicservicesbar.com
The second image is Marcella's Daiquiri, or the Daiquiri with no name, at Public Services
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