The Boy and his Poison: The Black Rat

This is a deceptively simple yet incredible long-cocktail. However, it's actually my brother's recipe. Last weekend, for his wedding, he not only sourced the drink, he also selected special glassware and left specific instructions for the bar staff to make it... and all this effort just for the head table where I was sat as the best man. It was in part a thank-you for the purgatory of the lead-up to the day, but his main motivation was a concession to what he called my 'recreational cocktail snobbery'.

It turned out to be the saviour of my role, providing much needed fuel for my speech. The hit of rum with the tang of orange and sweet fizz of the cola makes for a fantastic summer drink. So, welcome to a sophisticatedly tasty twist on a rum and coke - the Black Rat.

You’ll Need

• 75ml Rum
• 100ml Orange Juice
• Dash of Cola
• Dash of White Rum
• Squeeze of lime (optional)
• Dash of Angostura Butters (optional)
• Crushed ice

Make it

1. Pour the rum and orange juice in a shaker with a squeeze of lime and stir.
2. Fill a small glass or preferably a drink jar with crushed ice (if you don’t have any crushed ice just batter some ice cubes in a resealable bag with a rolling pin).
3. Strain the orange and rum over the ice. 
4. Pour over a dash of cola, a dash of white rum and a drop of angostura bitters.
5. Garnish with a slice of lime and serve with a straw.