MxMonday: Coco Blanco
Hey Dave, where have you been?
On holiday, like I said in my previous post. Here, if you must know.
Did you get much cocktailing done?
Nope, my folks don’t have the same urge to store fifty different bottles at home that I do. Hell, they don’t even have a shaker.
Sounds like an excuse to present a crappy MxMonday drink…
Actually, I’ve been thinking about it for a two or three weeks. That doesn’t mean it’s any good, of course, it just means that this entry isn’t entirely improvised.
So what did you come up with?
Well, I considered being “original” and maybe doing something like the Brandy Alexander.
That’s the kind of “original” that everyone else thinks of too.
Exactly. So then I thought about maybe dusting off the Hummingbird or something similar.
Risky business, covering a cocktail you only published a few weeks ago…
Yup. Finally, I remembered that Barceló has a new rum cream and that I conveniently had a bottle purchased at my wife’s behest, so I decided to come up with something that uses it. I don’t know if it’s great, but at least it’s mine. And I even came up with a cool name. 
What’s this rum cream like?
It’s made using Dominican aged rum, in a recipe I suspect is similar to most other cream liqueurs. This rum is apparently aged in Bourbon casks for a length of time before being used to make this cream. Barceló’s aged rum is actually quite nice on it’s own, and the rum cream is also decent. It’s not something that comes at you, though. It’s basically just Bailey’s with rum.
What can you possibly mix that with?
Remember we’re talking rum here, so I wanted something traditionally tropical but also creamy. Coconut cream fits the bill perfectly.
Interesting, I can’t find any recipe on Google that combines those two ingredients.
Neither could I, possibly with good reason… Anyway, I finally needed a hint of sweetness and flavour to contrast with the existing profile, so I added a little Amaretto. Maybe it’s the easy way out, but it works fairly well.
And since it’s a tropical drink, we’re talking blender here.
Great. By the way, what’s with the name you’ve given it?
Coco Blanco is the name of a bird native to Santo Domingo, which is where Barceló rum hails from. You may know it, it’s called the White Ibis in English. Also, the drink uses coconut and comes out white, so it’s a kind of play on words.
Well, are you going to make us a couple or what?
Coming right up…
Recipe:
1 1/2 oz. Rum Cream
2 oz. Coconut Cream
1/4 oz. Amaretto
In a blender, mix the rum cream and coconut cream with about half-a-cup of ice. Blend until smooth, serve into a wide glass and pour a splash of amaretto into the glass using a spoon to spread it out over the surface. The idea is to get it to streak slightly when stirred using the straw.
Notes:
You have to be careful with two things here.
Both the rum cream and coconut cream have relatively delicate flavours, so if you overdo the ice it’s going to get watery and tasteless. However, if you don’t add enough ice, the drink is going to be too sweet. A hint: It’s called a Coco Blanco, so the drink should be white before adding the amaretto. If it’s rum cream colour, then you need more ice.
Also, be very careful not to overdo the amaretto. If you get it just right, it should add to the drink without taking over. It’s way too easy to pour in too much, so start with a little and work up from there. You shouldn’t need more than half a tablespoon.
Rating:
I can’t rate my own drink, although my wife seems to like it and has already tasked me with making it next time we have friends around. Let me know what you think in the comments.
Visit Morsels & Musings for the rest of the Mixology Monday entries.
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