The Last Beach

It’s hard to resist an ice cold glass of freshly made lemonade on a hot summer day. We love how refreshing sweet-tart lemonade is and we also love how a big pitcher helps to fill the gap between morning coffee and afternoon happy hour. The Last Beach is a riff on lemonade that is also great for drinking on a hot day and has some of that tiki flare – by which we mean rum – that we all love so much.

The drink starts with fresh mint leaves that are muddled at the bottom of a mixing glass until their oils are released. The mint is them combined with lemon juice, pineapple juice, orgeat (we used Giffard) and simple syrup. This combination on its own could make a tasty variation on plain lemonade, but of course we decided to add in a generous dose of aged white rum to the mix. We used Cruzan 2 Year white rum in this drink, but any other smooth, white aged rum will work just as well. We also added a small splash of Captain Morgan’s Grapefruit Rum, a particularly aromatic rum that adds just the right touch of grapefruit without adding all the bitterness of fresh grapefruit juice. The grapefruit rum is has a very strong flavor, however, so you only need a small amount to add some complexity to the other flavors.

The result is a cocktail with plenty of citrus and a clean, minty finish that leaves you refreshed and ready for another sip. The orgeat lends a subtle creaminess to the other ingredients and helps to tame the bright, fresh lemon juce, ensuring that cocktail is just sweet enough to go down very, very easily.

The Last Beach
2 oz white aged rum
1/4 oz Captain Morgan Grapefruit Rum
2 oz pineapple juice
1 1/2 oz lemon juice
1/2 oz simple syrup
1/2 oz orgeat
10 mint leaves

In a mixing glass or shaker, muddle mint leaves with simple syrup and orgeat. Add in all remaining ingredients and shake vigorously until very cold, about 20 seconds.
Double strain into a hurricane glass filled with crushed ice. Garnish with fresh mint.