On 26 January, Australia celebrates its national day commemorating the founding of the colony of New South Wales on 26 January 1788. Yet when it comes to Australia Day cocktails, our country lacks a signature drink.
With the rise of local craft distilling, we’re not short on a choice of spirits. So in the absence of an official Australian national drink, we have created our own Australia Day Cocktail using rum as the base spirit.
Rum has played an integral part in Australia’s history. For a time, rum was used as a form of payment and became currency giving rise to the term “a rum state”. On Australia Day 1808, on the 20th Anniversary of the newly-founded colony, Governor William Bligh was overthrown and replaced by the military in what became known as the Rum Rebellion.
History aside, Australia produces some fine craft rums. For this cocktail, we used Iridium Gold Rum from Mt Uncle Distillery in Far North Queensland. The single barrel aged rum is made from 100% sugar cane and aged for 4 years in ex red wine American oak barrels. We paired the rum with fresh mangoes from Queensland, house-made ginger syrup, fresh lime juice and in keeping with current cocktail trends, we turned it onto a fizz by adding soda water.
Sails in the Sunset is light, fruity and very refreshing and makes a sessionable Australian cocktail to enjoy on Australia Day. Sip it while listening to Great Southern Land (Icehouse), Sound of Then (GANGgajang), Solid Rock (Goanna) and Down Under (Men at Work).
Australia Day Cocktail Recipe: Sails in the Sunset
Original recipe created by Cocktails & Bars
Ingredients
- 60 ml of gold rum
- 20 ml ginger syrup (see below)
- 10 ml fresh lime juice
- 90 ml soda water
- 1 mango
Glassware: stemless wine glass
Garnish: mango fan and a sprig of mint
Method
To make the ginger syrup, heat equal quantities of water and white sugar (1/4 cup will suffice) with a slice of ginger in a pan until the sugar is dissolved. Press the ginger down to extract some of the juice. Strain and store in the fridge until ready to use.
Slice the mango lengthways. Muddle one slice of the flesh in a cocktail shaker. Add rum, ginger syrup, lime juice. Fill the shaker with ice and shake well. Double strain into a chilled wine glass ensuring there is no mango pulp. Top with soda water and ice cubes. Garnish with fanned mango slices and a sprig of mint.
You may also like… Australia Day Cocktails – Sun-Kissed Country, Sails in the Sunset, Girt By Sea
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