MxMo: Fruit Liqueurs -- Canton Cocktail
Anna at Morsels and Musings certainly gave me something to think about when she chose Fruit Liqueurs for this month's Mixology Monday. I tend to shy away from really sweet cocktails.
Initially, I thought about using this as a good justification for picking up a bottle like creme de cassis or even chambord, but decided I'd stick to what was already in my cabinet, which left me with orange liqueur and maraschino.
When I first started obsessively reading cocktail recipes on the web, one of the first I bookmarked as something to make when I had all the ingredients was the Canton Cocktail at the Drinkboy site. I hadn't yet picked up a bottle of Maraschino liqueur, so I added it my del.icio.us bookmarks to remember to try it later.
Tonight, I picked up a bottle of Appleton Estate, and decided to give the Canton a try for MxMo. I thought maybe I should try something a little more fruit liqueur dominant for the spirit of the thing, but the Canton appealed because of its mix of two different fruit flavors.
This is a really pleasant drink. It is a bit sweet, but the rum balances it. The equal parts of orange and maraschino play very nicely. The orange does seem slighty more dominant, although that may be a factor of the influence of the orange twist. The grenadine makes a nice extra dash to brighten the drink.
Canton Cocktail
1 1/2 ounces Jamaican rum (Appleton Estate)
1/4 ounce orange curaçao (Harlequin)
1/4 ounce Maraschino liqueur (Luxardo)
1 dash grenadine
stir over ice, strain into cocktail glass, garnish with cherry and orange twist