One snowstorm down, two more to go this week (forget the Groundhog Day prediction for an early spring). For a diversion, I pulled out Charleston Receipts (Junior League of Charleston, 1950) from my shelf full of Southern cookbooks. The “Simons’ Special” looked like the right potency to follow a bout of shoveling or cross-country skiing.
Out came the cocktail shaker, gin, light rum, and a lemon. For garnish, I cut up a limequat – a cross between a key lime and a kumquat that I saw for the first time at the supermarket and couldn’t resist trying. It looked like a miniature lemon but tasted even more sour so I wouldn’t recommend eating it plain. Here is my adaptation of the simple, bracing cocktail. If you use dark rum, add another jigger of gin. Tomorrow? Let it snow!
Simons’ Special Cocktail (1950)
Serves 1-2
1 jigger (3 tablespoons) light rum
2 jiggers gin
2 tablespoons lemon juice
6 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon sugar (or to taste)
- Mix together the rum and gin.
- In a separate container, mix the lemon juice, water and sugar.
- Pour into a cocktail shaker, add ice, and shake. Strain. Add more ice, garnish with a lemon slice, and serve.
Note (from the original recipe): The lemon mixture should be sweetened so it just off the tart side. Do not sweeten too much, as a rum drink does not need much sugar.
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