We asked Josh Schaff, managing partner at Cayo Coco Rum Bar & Restaurante, to create the perfect Alabama boat drink. Something refreshing and fairly simple for the home bartender — and lighter on the booze for our sweltering summer days.
Schaff’s riff on the classic “Missionary’s Downfall”—a prohibition-era cocktail created by Don the Beachcomber himself—features local peaches, spearmint and honey.
Ingredients
1 ripe Alabama peach, cut into slices
3-5 spearmint leaves
2 ounces soda water
1.5 ounces Campesino Silver Rum
.5 ounces fresh-squeezed Lime Juice
.75 ounces pineapple juice, ideally fresh
.75 ounces 1:1 honey syrup*
*For honey syrup, combine 4 ounces honey to 4 ounces hot water. Stir until combined. Store refrigerated for up to one month.
Directions
1. In the glass you will serve your cocktail in, add the mint and one slice of ripe peach. Gently muddle the ingredients, taking care not to press too hard—you just want the spearmint to release its highly aromatic oils. Top this mix with 2 ounces of crisp, cold soda water.
2. In a cocktail shaker, combine your remaining ingredients, add ice, and shake it like you mean it. Open your shaker and strain over the spearmint, peach, and soda mix.
3. Fill the glass to the top with ice either from the cocktail shaker or fresh.
4. Garnish! This will make your fresh cocktail beautiful and complete. Add one sprig of mint, a peach slice, and a straw. Enjoy!