039 – Bacardí Cocktail

Sydney Covid ‘lock-down’ exploration of the ‘Bacardí Cocktail’.

Lockdown inspired cocktail rediscoveries. Let’s take a look at the classic ‘Bacardí Cocktail’, and explore some of the cocktail’s history and construction, and why you need to make your own Grenadine Syrup.

Make your own ‘mix-at-home’ Locktail, the ‘Bacardí Cocktail’, and your own Grenadine Syrup.

METHOD – HOME-MADE GRENADINE SYRUP – Add 200ml pure Pomegranate Juice (about one large Pomegranate in a citrus press or quality bought pure juice), 200gm Caster Sugar, 30ml quality Pomegranate Molasses, and 5ml (one teaspoon) of Orange Blossom Water into a pan. Heat on a low heat, stirring until all of the sugar has fully dissolved (do not let the mixture boil or bubble). Remove and chill, add 30 to 40ml Vodka into the chilled mix to assist in preservation. Should last 3-weeks or more refrigerated and make around 300ml of home-made Grenadine Syrup (enough for around 15 of these cocktails and usable in any other cocktail calling for Grenadine Syrup).

FOR THE COCKTAIL – Add 60ml Bacardí Rum (white or gold – I prefer the Carta Ora Gold for this cocktail), 20ml freshly squeezed lime juice and 20ml of the home-made Grenadine Syrup (see above) into a cocktail shaker with a handful of ice. Shake until cold (10-15 seconds) and double strain into a coupe, martini or cocktail glass. This is a relatively petite mix, so feel free to use a small and elegant glass. Garnish with a cocktail cherry (optional).

HISTORICAL NOTES – On 13 November 1913, the ‘Oakland Tribune’ reported on a new cocktail coming out of New York that contained Puerto Rican Rum, lime juice and grenadine, the ingredients of a ‘Bacardí Cocktail’, even if not specifying the name of the cocktail.

One year later in 1914, Jacques Straub publishes a recipe for a ‘Bacardi Cocktail’ in his book simply titled ‘Drinks’. Interesting for cocktail fans to see the very different recipe for an ‘Aviation’ directly above it.

This recipe (Bacardí Rum, Grenadine, and Lime Juice) started appearing in a number of other books of the era (in varying mix quantities), and it became a very popular World War One and pre-Prohibition drink, in bars all across the United States, Cuba and abroad.

In Robert Vermeire’s 1922 ‘Cocktails: How to Make Them’ from the Embassy Hotel in London, he suggests that in the United States, the ‘Bacardí Cocktail’ is “undoubtedly more popular than any other cocktail”. Although in Vermeire’s recipe it was Simple Syrup rather than Grenadine, so the cocktail would have been quite different to the established version that includes Grenadine.

The drink stayed popular in speakeasies during Prohibition (1920–1933) and spread offshore, and was one of the first cocktails to return to popularity in the USA after Prohibition (1934 onward), largely due to its ease of production as bars returned initially with less skilled bar staff.

In 1936, the Bacardí Company won a New York Supreme Court case, effectively preventing the ‘Bacardí Cocktail’ from being made with any rum other than Bacardí. Similar to the legal protection obtained by Gosling Black Seal Rum for the ‘Dark & Stormy’.

The Bacardí Cocktail popularity has waned over the years, perhaps due to the later cocktail inventions and bartender ‘re-skilling’ after Prohibition, perhaps in part due to the better (home or bar-made) grenadine syrup of the day. During the 1930’s the Bacardí Cocktail was at the ‘height of its power’ all around the USA and Cuba – so let’s take a look at it with ‘home made’ grenadine, to see better what it was like back then.

THE OFFICIAL MIX – The ‘Bacardí Cocktail’ is not included in any of the International Bartender Association (IBA) official lists. The closest to an ‘official cocktail’ recipe is probably the one in Jacques Straub’s 1914 book ‘Drinks’ shown above, which is less Rum and more Grenadine than we would probably use in any contemporary recipe.

TASTING NOTES – I think we learnt a lesson with the ‘Mary Pickford’, that making century-old cocktails with contemporary ingredients can be problematic. Having had a ‘Bacardí Cocktail’ with what is considered high-quality Grenadine, I already knew this wouldn’t rate well if mixed with store-bought syrup.

So since we are still in Covid Lockdown, why not start making Syrup’s the way the would have been in 1914 and the 1930’s. With the home-made Grenadine, and for the record I am never buying commercial Grenadine again, this is a completely different cocktail. The sweetness and flavour of the Rum complements the Pomegranate and molasses in the syrup and the acidity of the lime brings it all together into a totally enjoyable drink. I don’t know how I can avoid rating this 4-stars, but only if you make your own Grenadine.

LOCKTAIL CHANGES – There is really only one change to make here, and I guess it isn’t really a change. Don’t use commercial store bought Grenadine Syrup, otherwise this is a very low grade (2-star at best) cocktail, changed completely by making your own Grenadine Syrup.

YOUR LOCKTAIL EXPERIENCE – If you’d rather taste than read, I am progressively building an ingredient list and other sourcing information on this site. I will re-use ingredients where I can (good for my budget too), so that the cost goes down overtime if you are ‘playing at home’.

Let me know what you think.

Cocktails you’d like reinvented.

Recipes you’ve tried and your ‘score’.

This is the ninth of the 1921-1930 (‘roaring twenties’) bracket of ‘Locktail’ remixes. Full list in the index.