Oh Gosh

Continuing with my exploration of Tony Conigliaro’s Cocktail Lab, last night I tried the Oh Gosh, a daiquiri variation with triple sec. The recipe calls for a 3-year old rum which I thought was strangely specific and understood as code for Havana Club Añejo white. I wonder if the brand is specified in the British edition? I used Cointreau for the triple sec.

3/4 oz rum | 3/4 oz triple sec | 1/2 oz lime | 2 tsp simple syrup | shake with ice | strain into cocktail glass | lemon twist garnish

The result is somewhat reminiscent of the Daiquiri No. 2, another orange-flavored daiquiri variation that features a touch of curaçao and orange juice. Oh Gosh is heavier on the orange with half of the rum replaced with triple sec. It is a very approachable Daiquiri, a little tamer – less intensely tart – than a Daiquiri Naturale. It’s a nice twist but to be honest I still prefer a classic Daiquiri. The cocktail is well balanced but I struggled a bit with the large amount of triple sec.

Since I cracked open my bottle of Havana Club Añejo 3 years for the occasion, I decided to do a side-by-side comparison with my go-to white rum, Flor de Caña Extra Dry 4 years. First, in the glass the Havana Club has a faint yellow color and Flor de Caña is colorless. Havana Club has a faint citrus and vanilla smell, while the Flor de Caña has a very pleasant coconut water smell. Taste wise, they are quite different. Flor de Caña tastes sweet at first (the coconut water again), slightly briny, and finishes dry and very clean. Havana Club tastes herbal with a rounder/fuller taste, a more pronounced burn, and a somewhat unpleasant gasoline finish. Obviously they are not intended as sipping rums so it would make sense to compare them in a cocktail too. I’ve seen people recommend Flor de Caña as a substitute for Havana Club which is not available in the US, but overall they are quite different. I’ve been quite happy in the past with Flor de Caña and I will be interested to find out how the Havana Club will perform in cocktails.

Further reading

• Give me a wink and I’ll give you what I think you’re after, for another cocktail from Tony Conigliaro’s Cocktail Lab.
• Oh Gosh gave its name to Jay Hepburn’s cocktail blog, Oh Gosh! See his post here (the recipe is slightly different from the book).