We wanted something with suze and so went with a (modified) version of a drink from Tiki
Tasting Notes
Ryan: The drink starts with a faint note of something almost savory, though I can’t really place what it is. That gives way to the grassy notes in the charanda modulated immediately by the suze/bitterness. The aftertaste is faintly warming and pleasant. The drink feels bright and fresh–the yellow color helps a lot with that, I think–and the suze has some nice complexity and definitely complements the charanda pretty well. I’ll admit that I want it a bit sweeter (the Day Trippin' was the right amount of sweet to go with the Suze), but we’ve had a number of sweet drinks recently, so the contrast is welcome. Rory points out that I might actually just want it less tart, rather than more sweet, and I think I agree with that.
I really do want to pick up an actual rhum agricole to understand what the differences are.
Like many of the drinks we’ve made from Mustipher’s book–besides that Jungle Bird–it’s very well balanced, and that means no flavor stands out particularly strongly. Instead they all play a clear role. The …shape of the drink… strongly resembles the profile of Suze, with the other components showing up in just the right amounts to accentuate and smooth out that curve.
Taking more sips now, there’s definitely something that resembles “savory”, something I associate with mustard or something? I’m not entirely sure, but it’s definitely there… I wonder what component it’s from. As it’s warmed up, it definitely tastes slightly different, but I’m not sure what component is showing up more.
Rory: Don’t inhale! It smells interesting, and it tastes good, and it burns if it goes in your lungs. (what a surprise!)
More seriously, as could be expected with Suze, I dig it. My initial thought is “uncomplicatedly good!” and then I notice all the flavors underneath - the weird charanda, the bitter ripple from the suze, the tart lime; I think the falernum is doing the work of marrying them all into “uncomplicated” at first blush.
Something about it makes me want to describe it as like a hot lime, but I’m not sure what I’m getting heat from. I think the charanda? But it’s weird; I’ve had other drinks with lime and charanda that I wouldn’t describe as hot lime, so there’s some more interplay happening here to do that. It’s slightly more sour forward than sweet, but just slightly.
One day we’ll pick up an actual bottle of rhum agricole; I’d really like to compare one to charanda.
Something reminded me of last night’s Mountain Dew drink - maybe just the color - and I’m a little put off now, but there’s nothing to encourage that comparison.
If I focus on each sip, there’s a mix of weird flavors - herbal, squiggly funk, tart - but it’s also possible to drink without noticing them. The garnish called for was a lime wheel, so it’s starting to come into play at the bottom of the drink. I think it’s mostly contributing a touch more juice for the last few sips, but I actually wonder that the extra bitterness that I tend to get from a dehydrated one would work here.
Recipe
- 2 oz uruapan charanda
- 3⁄4 oz lime juice
- 3⁄4 oz falernum
- 1⁄2 oz suze
Shake and strain into a chilled coupe.
Source: Tiki: Modern Tropical Cocktails by Shannon Mustipher