Death Bed

Lengthy aging (8+ years) lends some color and lots of flavor to the rum. Most often bottled as a blend of pot and column-distilled rums ('Blended' category). Varieties are available from all over the Carribean and the world.

Unaged rum made from fresh cane juice (rather than cane syrup or molasses). Rhum agricole originates in the French Caribbean and has grassy and vegetal flavors that are key to such drinks as the Ti' Punch and the Port Au Prince. Classic-era recipes calling for Martinique rum are actually closer to today's Demerara (Guyanese) or Jamaican pot-still styles.

Also refered to as Peter heering, this cherry liqueur brand is commonly used in cocktails like the Singapore Sling and Blood & Sand.

The second most common juice used in cocktails. This citrus juice is about 6% acid; 4% from citric and 2% from malic, with small amounts of succinic acid (this is what gives it a little bloody taste). Lime juice should be used the day it is squeezed, some like it freshly squeezed and others like it a few hours old.

A tropical fruit, used in many tropical cocktails for its sweet flavor and yellow color. You can either juice a real pineapple, buy pineapple canned in juice (not syrup) or buy pineapple juice in a container.

Small, round, green citrus fruits. Commonly used in many cocktails for its rind or its acidic taste (6% acid total; 4% citric, 2% malic, some succinic acid).

In cocktails, cherries are sweetened in a brine, like maraschino cherries (marr-ə-SKEE-noh) or in brandy, like brandied cherries. They are usually used as a garnish, muddled into the cocktail, or used simple for their sweetened brine.