Alright, so I decided to give the Chet Baker cocktail a shot the other night. Heard the name, sounded cool, kinda jazzy, you know? Figured I’d try my hand at it.
Getting Started
First things first, had to gather the goods. Wasn’t too complicated, thankfully. Here’s what I rounded up:
- Some decent aged rum I had lying around. Nothing super fancy, but good enough.
- Limes, obviously. Gotta have fresh lime juice.
- Honey.
- Ice. Lots of ice.
The recipe I saw mentioned honey syrup, not just straight honey. So, task number one was making that. Just took some honey, maybe half a cup, and mixed it with the same amount of hot water. Stirred it like crazy until the honey dissolved. Let that cool down a bit. Easy peasy.
Mixing It Up
Okay, syrup’s cool. Grabbed my trusty shaker. Time for the main event.
Measured out the rum. Poured about two ounces into the shaker. Felt about right.
Then squeezed the limes. Aimed for about three-quarters of an ounce of juice. Freshly squeezed makes all the difference, trust me. Strained out the pulp and seeds.
Added the honey syrup. Went with about the same amount as the lime juice, maybe a touch less. Didn’t want it overly sweet.
Filled the shaker with ice. Like, really filled it up. You want it super cold.
The Shake and Pour
Put the lid on tight. Learned that lesson the hard way before. Started shaking. Gave it a good, hard shake for maybe 15, 20 seconds. You can feel the shaker getting frosty cold. That’s the sign.
Grabbed a chilled coupe glass. Always better when the glass is cold too.
Double strained the mix into the glass. Used the shaker’s built-in strainer and a little fine mesh strainer to catch any tiny ice bits or lime pulp. Makes for a smoother drink.
The Verdict
Looked pretty good in the glass. Nice pale color. Took a sip.
Not bad! Smooth from the aged rum, got that nice tang from the lime, and the honey gives it a different kind of sweetness than regular sugar. It’s like a more mellow, sophisticated Daiquiri, I guess. Definitely felt fitting for the name. Yeah, I’d make this one again. Simple, classic taste. Pretty solid effort, if I do say so myself.
