Moonraker

 

This cocktail can't be named after anything but the Roger More as Bond film of the 70s, and that makes me wonder. There is nothing about this cocktail that strays from classic ingredients, so the association with a movie that is notable for being far-fetched and space-age doesn't pan. Perhaps it was only a product of its time, like all cocktails, and the fact that it may be trying to riff on the Moonlight--the first drink I made with Laird's Applejack 86. 

But this drink is a much more advanced design compared to the apple brandy Sour that the Moonlight was once upon a time. It is blended to a thick slush with rum and falernum thrown in for heat and spice and served in a globe-shaped glass with an apple slice. 

For this recipe, I'm proud to show off my homemade falernum in a new bottle with a vintage label. I'm also excited to have used Mt. Defiance light rum for the first time. This rum is richly flavored and yet blends well with other spirits. It's the perfect Daiquiri rum when you want more than a lime juice Sour drink--you want it to taste like the Caribbean. Falernum, a spiced rum and juice spirit normally associated with the Caribbean as well, is a shorthand here for apple pie spice. Altogether, this cocktail tastes familiar--and very good--despite its disparate parts. It looks even better. 

• 1 1/2 oz. applejack (Laird's 86 used)
• 3/4 oz. light rum (Mt. Defiance used)
• 1/2 oz. lime juice
• 1/2 oz. orgeat or falernum (homemade falernum used)
• apple slice garnish

Combine liquid ingredients with cracked ice in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a chilled squall glass (large stemless wine glass pictured). Garnish with the apple slice.