How do you make a classic like Rum & Cola feel modern, contemporary and a bit luxurious? At BlackTail in New York they keep the rum but swap the cola for a mix of cola syrup and sparkling wine.
As we had some cola syrup left, and as we were anyway throwing a cocktail party, we figured this was the perfect drink to kick off the evening with. The cola syrup we made was very dense, you can tell by looking at the photo with the syrup sinking to the bottom. We thought this created a rather cool effect, but before enjoying the cocktails we carefully stirred them a bit in the glasses, making sure the rum and syrup mix blended with the sparkling wine.
1 dash bitters (Orinoco suggested)
0,5 tbsp Fernet-Branca
0,75 oz cola syrup
1 oz rum
4 oz sparkling wine
We stirred all non sparkling ingredients with ice, poured into glasses and topped up with the sparkling wine.
If you try this at home, promise to not skip out on the Fernet-Branca. The small amount might make it seem neglectable, but it’s an ingredient that pairs really well with cola, contributing with some bitterness as well as some herbal notes.
