Quarter Deck (With Pusser's Rum)

This simple cocktail is part of a pair of naval drinks that swing towards rich and sweet aperitifs or desserts. The "Deck" cocktails that include the Poop Deck and this one are very similar in that they use an aged spirit and a fortified wine in a simple mixture that is served up. I've re-done this cocktail to bring it a little closer to something that might be enjoyed on a British Navy vessel some hundred and sixty years ago. In a previous iteration I used spiced rum, which isn't historically accurate.

As it appears now, the sherry is medium sweet and the Pusser's is Caribbean dark rum with lots of character from its wooden still and barrel aging. A sweeter sherry is probably appropriate for balance, so I added a touch of brown sugar syrup that blends with the dark sugary notes almost imperceptively.

• 1 1/2 oz. dark rum (Pusser's used)
• 3/4 oz. cream sherry (Amontillado used plus 1/2 tsp. brown sugar syrup for balance)
• 1 tsp. lime juice

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. 

Xango

Sometimes an exotic tasting cocktail is really a simple balance of rum, citrus and triple sec. This is one of those kinds of drinks. I'm showing off Blackbeard's Point rum from Blue Sky Distillery. The lemon twist is a nice touch. You could just as well use a grapefruit twist, but you lose the aromatics of lemon that are so much brighter than its pink cousin.

• 1 1/2 oz. light rum (Blackbeard's Point used)
• 1 oz. grapefruit juice
• 1/2 oz. triple sec
• lemon twist

Combine all liquid ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Twist lemon peel over the glass and drop it in.

Jolly Roger

On paper, I love this drink. It has the promise of greatness, and like so many citrus-forward Drambuie drinks, it fails a little at that promise.

The Jolly Roger refers to the scull and crossbones (or swards) pirate flag, which is no coincidence since rum is piratical and scotch the native spirit of many pirates, or so I've heard. The trouble is that Drambuie is sweet but not sweet enough to offset the tartness of the lime juice (also a pirate necessity to combat scurvy.) I feel that a flavored soda or tonic would up the game a little and make the drink less like a spicy Rum Rickey.

• 2 oz. light rum
• 1 oz. Drambuie
• 1 oz. lime juice
• club soda
• 1/4 tsp. scotch

Combine all ingredients except soda and scotch in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a highball glass full of fresh ice. Top with soda and stir gently. Float scotch on top.

Man O'War

You get the idea that British sailors needed this hefty lime boost in bourbon while sailing around in their 30-gun frigates known as man o'war. I was really reluctant to waste the flavor of bourbon with so much lime juice, which tends to wash out all richness with citric acid. I'm glad it was a hot day when I finally did make a Man O'War, because it was refreshing and juicy, but also woody and bitter, a fitting taste for this swashbuckling cocktail.

• 2 oz. bourbon
• 1 oz. triple sec
• 1/2 oz. sweet vermouth
• 1 oz. lime juice

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.