Recipe: The Most Classic Cocktail, Miami-Style

Going to Miami and not having a fruity, frosty drink would be like going to the movies and not having popcorn. Order that piña colada! Then, follow it up with a local twist on that most classic of cocktails.

I’m talking about the Old Fashioned, which is as simple as cocktails get (not to mention delicious). It’s just sugar, bitters, and whiskey. The idea behind the Miami-version of this cocktail is just as simple. Just swap out your whisky for the Sunshine State’s favorite spirit: rum.

We sampled this tropics-inspired tipple at Gramps, a kitschy cool bar in the Wynwood Arts District. Named after the maternal grandfather of owner Adam Gersten, it brings to mind that Macklemore song “Thrift Shop.” In other words, we’re talking grandpa style in the coolest of all possible ways — cheap beer and bocce ball included. Oh, and did we mention there’s a pizza window? We’re pretty sure anyone, Gramps included, would approve of that.

But Gersten says there’s more to it than just the look (which, he notes, was originally inspired by his grandfather’s home office, but ended up being nothing like it). “Miami is my hometown and, at the time that I was opening Gramps, a lot of the places I loved were closed or closing,” he explains. “Progress in Miami is unrelenting and there’s no regard for history. So, I wanted the name of the bar and the feeling of the bar to be connected to history, family, tradition — the things that aren’t shown enough respect.”

But back to that cocktail (and speaking of tradition), Gersten says he wanted to put a Miami-style twist on a really classic cocktail. What is more classic than an Old Fashioned? And what is more Miami than rum?

“It is the spirit of Miami,” Gersten notes, although the rum he uses isn’t your beach-variety blanco — it’s anejo, which means aged, and has more depth and complexity. Plus, he admits, “I was trying to keep some foot grounded in the traditional Old Fashioned and I needed a brown spirit.” He recommends Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva, which is from Venezuela and “a spectacular value,” or Barbancourt, a Haitian rum.

Two other twists — the black pepper syrup, instead of simple syrup, and the orange bitters — add some “spice and zing and cha cha cha,” and are a nod to the Miami palate.

Recipes from the Road are recipes gathered from our travels near and far. When you’re there, when you come home, a recipe is always the best souvenir. This month we’re visiting Miami.