Cook the Book
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[Photograph: Squire Fox]

Inspired by and named for the infamous hurricane that wrecked the Carolina coast in 1989, Matt and Ted Lee's Hugo cocktail is just as fierce as its namesake. At its core, the beverage is a riff on a Dark and Stormy, but it uses a serious dose of fresh ginger juice instead of the soda. The juice (plus the rum, of course) is strong enough to distract the drinker from any storm heading inland.

Why I picked this recipe: I fresh love ginger even more than I love Dark and Stormys.

What worked: The potent ginger juice is an excellent pair to sweet rum, and the two are well-balanced with lime, sugar, and bitters.

What didn't: No problems at all.

Suggested tweaks: You could play around with the base spirit if you're feeling creative. Aged tequila would also be nice here.

Excerpted with permission from The Lee Bros. Charleston Kitchen, copyright 2013 by Matt Lee and Ted Lee. Published by Clarkson Potter, a division of Random House. All rights reserved. Available wherever books are sold.

About This Recipe

Yield: Makes 1 drink
Active time: 5 minutes
Total time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 ounces (1/4 cup) dark rum, such as Mount Gay or Myers's
  • 2 teaspoons fresh ginger juice (from 1 1/2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger pressed through a paper towel or cheesecloth)
  • 2 lime wedges
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • Dash of aromatic cocktail bitters, such as Angostura
  • Splash of seltzer
  • A rod of peeled fresh ginger (optional)

Procedures

  1. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice cubes. Add the rum, ginger juice, 1 of the lime wedges, the sugar, and bitters, if using. Shake vigorously.

  2. Fill a rocks glass with ice cubes. Pour the cocktail over the ice, top off with seltzer, and garnish with the remaining lime wedge and a rod of ginger, if using.