August Drink of the Month - Venial Sin

My apologies for the lateness of this post - it would appear that starting back full time at work, building a deck, and raising a 5 mo old takes more time that I would hope. I actually made this drink back during the second week of the month, in celebration of Ann's birthday. Her request: an original rum drink with strawberries. The classic interpretation is the strawberry daiquiri, made with rum, simple syrup, lime juice, and muddled strawberry. A good, ice cold (but not frozen) daiquiri with fresh lime juice and good, un-aged rum is sublime - forget the frozen stuff or the cheap mixes. However, the daiquiri is also a perfect recipe for blender/frozen drinks, so that is often what most people encounter. When you mix frozen strawberry daiquiri and frozen pina colada, you get a Miami Vice, named after the classic TV show.

Three options of the Venial Sin - the right glass won!

My idea this month was to make a take on the Miami Vice that could be consumed as a rocks drink. The Miami Vice works because it is a frozen drink, which can be layered. But how could you combine these two drinks without them being layered? There is a riot of flavors between these two drinks - rum, lime, pineapple, coconut, and strawberry. Mix those all up into one and you get a weird drink with "too many notes" as my mom likes to say. The solution? We got rid of the pineapple (the most overpowering of the flavors), and used coconut water to make a simple syrup instead of coconut cream. The result isn't quite a vice, just a venial sin (oh, that was a bad Catholic theology joke - I must be getting back into the swing of things at work). I tried a few different recipe combinations for this drink, using both strawberry coconut water simple syrup and muddled strawberries in the syrup. Shocker, Ann preferred the sweetest option. But it was her birthday, so the recipe to follow will be up to her standards. Should you desire a less sweet option, reduce the coconut water syrup from 0.75 to 0.5 ounces. Here is the recipe for the Venial Sin:

In a mixing tin, combine the following:

0.75 coconut water syrup*

0.75 oz lime juice

1.5 oz white rum

2-3 strawberries, hulled and sliced

Muddle the strawberries. Add ice and share for 12 seconds. Fine strain if desired, otherwise serve with the muddled strawberry in the glass. Pour over fresh ice and serve with a strawberry garnish.

*For the coconut water syrup, combine equal parts coconut water and sugar (by weight) in a small sauce pan. Warm over low heat until sugar and coconut water are in solution.

We hope you enjoy your Venial Sin!