HOW I MAKE THAT DRINK (AND WHY IT'S SO GOOD)

 

 

Joseph is the bartender at Henry’s Lobby Bar, the small, elegant, open-sided bar at the gorgeous Nayara Tented Camp resort in Costa Rica, a hotel invariably, and correctly, considered one of the best in the world. 

 

He’s young but not inexperienced, encyclopedically knowledgeable, and gifted — one speaks from experience. He began his career at 18 as a waiter at the Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica, on the Peninsula Papagayo, and in a couple of years found his way to working behind the bar, at an age where he was barely legal to sit in front of it. In 2022 he moved to Nayara.

 

“I really love classic cocktails and I find passion playing with these cocktails, making my own version of them, and studying the history behind the cocktail world,” he says, before offering a certain WONDERLUST editor a range of possible follow up drinks. “This is one of my favorites of all time because it’s completely different from the usual kind of drinks that you will find in any bar, and the complexity of flavors that come through your palate, with the perfect balance, make this drink unique.” 

 

 

 

The Drink  

 

Trinidad Sour

 

This drink is perfect as an after dinner cocktail or a nightcap, but it comes excellent at any hour of the day, is a drink that never disappoints. Always good and everybody gets surprised when they try it for the first time. Everyone loves it!

 

The Trinidad Sour is a contemporary classic cocktail that was created in 2009 in the Clover Club Bar in Brooklyn, NY, by the bartender Giuseppe González. And that is an inspiration over an earlier drink called the Trinidad Especial, made in 2008.

 

Some of the considerations in this drink are that it has a high alcohol content because Angostura bitters are 89.4 proof, plus the whiskey is at least 80 proof. The orgeat is an almond syrup that has orange blossom water so the flavor is floral and nutty. Lastly, my personal twist is that I like to add a few drops of saline solution to enhance the flavors in the drink, and when it is served I spray a mist of orange blossom water to provide a pleasant aroma to the drink. 

 

Ratios and quantities of ingredients are up to every bartender. If you would like to make this and have an amazing experience with the taste, please use fresh ingredients — so, fresh squeezed lime juice is very important. You can try to make your own orgeat but in my case I really like the flavor that the Monin Brand Orgeat syrup gives to the drink.

 

 

 

Ingredients

 

The drink is described in milliliters — as bartenders we like to say that one ounce is 30 ml, so that means that 45 ml is one ounce and a half of an ounce, 22.5 ml is three quarters of an ounce, etc.

 

45 ml of Angostura bitters

30 ml of orgeat (almond syrup and orange blossom water)

22.5 ml of lime juice

30 ml of Rye Whiskey

3 drops of saline solution 

Spray of orange blossom on top for aroma

 

 

 

Preparation

 

It must be shaken and double strained, served straight up in a coupe, or Nick and Nora glass. 

 

Does Not have any garnish because the drink needs to look clean and luxurious!