Foul Weather Friend

We have a nice collection of Trader Vic’s cookbooks – both cocktail and food books – and every time we flip through the pages, it seems like we discover something we haven’t tried before. Last week was on the rainy side here in So Cal, so naturally the Four Weather cocktail jumped out at us. The original cocktail is a punch, made with both white and Jamaican rums, as well as a combination of orange juice, lemon juice, passion fruit and vanilla. It sounded great on paper, but it tasted a little flat once we mixed it up. The orange juice just didn’t stand out despite the fact that the recipe called for a fair amount of fresh juice. We played around a little and came up with a combination that used the same flavors as the original, but presented them in a slightly different way: the Foul Weather Friend.

This cocktail uses both white rum (we used El Dorado, but any good quality white rum will do) and Jamaican rum. As big fans of Smith and Cross, we naturally reached for that when we first made Vic’s version, only to find that it overpowered some of the more subtle elements of the drink. We toned down the Jamaican rum, then added Licor 43 for a some of the vanilla flavor Vic called for and Campari, which played up the flavor of the orange and toned down the sweetness of some of the other drink components. The result? A pretty pink cocktail with a nice balance of fruit, bittersweet and funk that will certainly perk you up no matter what the weather is like outside.

Foul Weather Friend
1 1/2 oz demerara white rum (your favorite good quality white rum)
1/2 oz Smith and Cross
3/4 oz Licor 43
1/2 oz Campari
1 oz lemon juice
1/2 oz orange juice
1/4 oz passion fruit syrup

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker or mixing glass. Fill with crushed ice and roll mixture into another glass 2-3 times. Pour into a goblet and serve. Garnish with fresh mint and a cocktail umbrella.