Zenith /zee-nith/ n.
1) The point on the celestial sphere vertically above a given position of the observer
2) A vintage American electronics company that was the first to mass-produce AC radios in 1926
3) Today’s cocktail recipe
If you’re an astronomy buff, or a person of a ‘certain’ age — ie: you can remember a world without smart phones, computers and microwave ovens — then the word zenith is not unfamiliar to you.
I personally have never really been into the movement of the stars and planets, but I did have a nifty Zenith transistor radio (“The quality goes in before the name goes on”) when I was growing up.
Ingredients:
- 1 jigger BACARDI RUM
- 1 pony DRY GIN
- 1 pony MAPLE SYRUP
- 1 small spoon SUGAR
- ½ LEMON
- LEMON SLICE
- SHAVED ICE
In a mixing glass, muddle lemon and sugar. Add shaved ice, rum, gin, and maple syrup. Shake. Strain into an Old Fashion/Whisky Glass. Serve with lemon slice.
Notes:
This drink is incredibly sweet. We’re talking eye-watering-nearly-closes-your-throat-up sweet. You’d think a half a lemon would knock it down a notch or two, but no.
The rum is sweet. And the sugar is, of course, sweet — though luckily it’s reduced to a small spoon as opposed to the Mixing Master’s usual cavity inducing barspoon measurement. The kicker is the maple syrup. A pony (1 oz!) of it. And I am someone who loves maple syrup. But I don’t drink it by the shot glass (and with more sugar added in, besides).
You’ll notice I’m not even mentioning the gin, because my taste buds didn’t mention it either.
If I were to make this cocktail again — oh, who am I fooling, of course I’ll be making it again — I’d bring the maple syrup down to ½ pony, or maybe less. Its lovely essence, which pairs nicely with the citrus-sour of the lemon, would still remain; but I think the whole effect would be less overpowering in its sweetness.
Side note: Alert readers will recall that the recipe for My Own Cocktail also calls for a pony of maple syrup — but since it didn’t include much else in the way of sweetness, it wasn’t quite as intense.
Another definition of zenith is: “a highest point or state“. I like that one. It’s particularly apropos, since it’s going to take me several hours to peel myself off the ceiling and come down from this sugar high.
This post has been brought to you by Zenith Cocktails : “the sweetness goes in before the name goes on”.