Rum Nectarine Smash

Summer truly arrived here in Vermillion, with temperatures in the high 90s yesterday. Armed with a big box of nectarines from Costco, it's a great time for a refreshing new cocktail. This recipe is a combination of Dale DeGroff's Whiskey Peach Smash (found in The New Craft of the Cocktail, a great compendium of drink recipes) and a daiquiri. The nectarine is very present in the drink, and rounds off the bracing tartness found in a regular daiquiri. I enjoyed mine at the grill while cooking a big batch of char siu.

My base spirit of choice here is El Dorado 5 Year, quite possibly my favorite rum for cocktails right now. I previously used this for my eggnog recipe and as before, Pusser's is a good substitute. Or, just use your favorite aged rum. I'm sure peaches would work just fine in place of the nectarine, as in DeGroff's original. Either way, it's a perfect drink to kick off summer on the porch.

Ingredients

• 1/2 ripe nectarine, peeled and sliced
• 4-5 small mint leaves
• 3/4 oz. demerara simple syrup (1:1 by weight)
• 1 oz. fresh lime juice
• 2 oz. aged demerara rum (El Dorado 5 Year)
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters
• Garnish: mint sprig

Equipment

• Cocktail shaker and strainer
• Muddler
• Old fashioned glass

Instructions

Fill glass halfway with ice. Combine nectarine, mint, and simple syrup in shaker. Gently muddle until nectarine is crushed. Avoid shredding the mint. Add lime juice, rum, and bitters. Add ice and shake until cold. Strain into the glass. You may need to rinse the strainer partway through if it gets clogged with pulp. Garnish with mint.