Cocktail #18: Three Dots and a Dash

A lot of preparation went into this week's cocktail (more on that in a minute). I first had this cocktail at the eponymously named tiki bar here in Chicago, Three Dots and a Dash. It's the name of the drink invented by Donn Beach in the 1940s and is also Morse code for the letter V - symbolizing victory in World War II.

While reading the Smugger's Cove book by Martin Cate, I noticed that he had a version of this drink, with the recipe as follows:

0.50 oz. fresh lime juice
0.50 oz. fresh orange juice
0.50 oz. honey syrup
0.25 oz. John D. Taylor's Velvet Falernum
0.25 oz. St. Elizabeth allspice dram
1.50 oz. cane AOC Martinique rhum agricole vieux
0.50 oz. blended aged rum
1 dash Angustura bitters

Cate always recommends mixing in a drink mixer, but absent that contraption, I filled a cocktail shaker with about 12 oz. crushed ice, added all the ingredients to the shaker and shook for about 30 seconds. I then poured everything unstrained into my trusty tiki mug (Cate recommends using a Pilsner glass).

Garnish with three maraschino cherries and either a pineapple chunk speared on a cocktail pick or three cherries and a pineapple leaf (to symbolize the three dots - cherries, and dash - pineapple).

A couple of notes: the closest rums I had were a 4-year rhum Barbancourt (closest to the Martinique rhum agricole) and a Hamilton Demerara. St. Elizabeth allspice dram is notoriously difficult to find (though if you're in Chicagoland Binny's carries it at some locations), and also costs a pretty penny (considering how little of it is called for in recipes and how rarely it would probably be used) so I decided to make my own - click through for more info on that. The falernum I made a few months back finally took a turn for the worse about a month ago so I just bought a bottle of John D. Taylor's - which seems great. Finally (and I really got lazy here) I was out of honey syrup and didn't feel like making another batch so instead I just used a couple drops of honey - sue me.

In addition to making my own allspice dram, I also utilized the maraschino cherries I made myself for the garnish. If you're interested in that process - check it out. Bottom line on that is the expensive Luxardo ones are probably better; grocery store ones would also do just fine. Mine were also very spicy and cinnamony.

The first sip was a little overwhelming in the spiciness department. I've never had allspice dram before, so I have no idea how my homemade DIY version stacks up to the St. Elizabeth commercial version. So, that could have thrown things off a bit. I spent about another five minutes taking pictures of the cocktail and then started drinking it again, and by that time some of the ice had melted diluting it a bit which greatly improved the drink, in my opinion. It was still spicy with strong notes of cinnamon, clove, and allspice, but only just on the verge of being too much. Next time I might use a hair less of the allspice dram due to its strength, but I think it turned out quite well. As I kept sipping this cocktail, I enjoyed it more with each sip and it seemed quite close to the drink I remember having at its namesake. Not quite there, but close.

If you can find or make allspice dram, and you've got some falernum, I highly recommend giving this one a try. Play with the amount of allspice dram and start easy with it - you can always add another dash or two.

Given the World War II era provenance of this cocktail, I'll leave you with one of my favorite WWII era songs, which is odd, endearing, and will get stuck in your head for hours (and is also in a hilarious scene in Twin Peaks!). Cheers!