Warren Bobrow / Courtesy photo
First published in bostonmagazine.com
In our rundown of the best hot chocolate in Boston, a few notable spiked examples made the cut. But should you seek something a little stronger, you’re going to want to head to our favorite bar-ware store, Boston Shaker.
Warren Bobrow and his trusty sidekick, Klaus the Soused Gnome show us how to conjure a mighty strong batch of hot chocolate made with Austrian-made Stroh 160. That’s right, that’s 160-proof rum. Hey, if anyone knows how ward off a winter chill, it’s the Austrians.
“I’ve found that the deep cherry notes of both Luxardo and Heering are a great complement and substitute for almond, allspice and passion fruit syrups.” Warren Bobrow, author of books such as Apothecary Cocktails: Restorative Drinks from Yesterday and Today, also points to the sweet nature of tiki cocktails as working in cherry liqueur’s favour. “I’m from the mindset of dry, and sometimes over proof rum over sweet, caramel coloured and heavily sugared rum in a tiki drink,” he says. “It’s the sweet stuff that is so memorable the next morning.” So he layers cherry flavours at the bottom of the glass and serves it with a straw for guests to “pull the sweet liqueur up from the bottom through the drier elements of the rum”.
Warren Bobrow (Leica M8)
