How to Drink Beach Cocktails in February

Rachel Tepper Paley
·Editor
Updated
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Photo credit: Getty/Jen Fox

Adam Bernbach was deep in a copy of the classic 1966 bartending manual "Early American Beverages" when he got a hankering for rum. For many of us, rum is inextricably tied to the daiquiri, the icy poolside classic at home in tiki bars the world over. But it was the dead of winter when Bernbach—the bar manager at 2 Birds 1 Stone in Washington, D.C.—started jonesing for one.

Since he isn’t one to pigeonhole drinks, Bernbach realized that he could “winterize” the iconic summer drink. “The weather tends to push your judgment in some ways that are more based on nostalgia than any sort of reality,” he told us. There’s nothing very summery, or even seasonal, for instance, about a piña colada—beside the fact it’s often served in slush form. "You don’t go to the farmers market and get coconuts," Bernbach pointed out. So why should piña coladas be consigned to a single season?

The menu at 2 Birds 1 Stone will feature three winterized summer cocktails through the end of March (but not at the same time; Bernbach tends to swap one out for another every week or so). He calls his cold-weather daiquiri a “Calibre,” and makes it with rum, lime juice, and mole bitters sweetened with maple syrup. Double-strained and poured into a cocktail glass rinsed with a peaty Scotch (which Bernbach says gives the drink a “salty sea quality”), the libation is a nod to maritime rum trade during the colonial era.

He has also concocted a “Winter Colada,” a refined riff on a piña colada. A syrup of brown sugar and pineapple sweetly rounds out rum spiced in-house with cinnamon, black peppercorns, star anise, cloves, and cardamom. Coconut milk adds a creamy note.

Lastly, there’s the “Winter Pimm’s Cup,” which is currently 2 Birds 1 Stone’s most popular cocktail; cinnamon-infused Pimm’s, gin, and spicy house-made ginger beer sound like a warming combo.

These cocktails shouldn’t intimidate the at-home bartender, Bernbach said. With some of the weather we’ve been having, you might not want to venture outside anyway.

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Photo credit: Amber Pfau/Jen Fox

Calibre (Winter Daiquiri) 

Ingredients:

  • 2 oz El Dorado year-old rum

  • 1/2 oz maple syrup (Grade B)

  • 3/4 oz lime juice

  • 2 dashes Bitter Truth mole bitters

  • Peaty Scotch for rinsing glass

  • Orange zest for garnish

Combine rum, maple syrup, lime juice, and bitters with ice,and shake. Double-strain mixture into Scotch-rinsed cocktail glass. Garnish with orange zest.

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Photo credit: Amber Pfau/Jen Fox

Winter Pimm’s Cup 

Ingredients:

  • 1 oz cinnamon-infused Pimm’s*

  • 1 oz Ford’s gin

  • 4 oz spicy ginger beer

  • Mint sprig and lemon wheel for garnish

Pour Pimm’s and gin over ice in a Collins glass. Top with ginger beer and garnish with mint and lemon.

*For 1 liter of cinnamon-infused Pimm’s, place 3 toasted and broken cinnamon sticks in the spirit overnight.

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Photo credit: Amber Pfau/Jen Fox

Winter Colada (Winter Piña Colada)

  • 1 1/2 oz house-spiced El Dorado eight-year rum*

  • 1 oz winter pineapple syrup**

  • 1/2 oz lime juice

  • 3/4 oz coconut milk

  • Pineapple, mint, and nutmeg for garnish

Combine rum, pineapple syrup, lime juice, and coconut milk, then shake. Strain mixture over ice in a highball or Collins glass. Garnish with pineapple, sprig of mint, and freshly grated nutmeg.

*For house-spice rum, add 3 cinnamon sticks, 2 oz. black peppercorns, 5 star anise, 4 cloves, and 1 oz. cardamom to 750 ml of El Dorado eight-year rum. Let sit overnight, and strain before using.

**For winter pineapple syrup, blend 1 lb dark brown sugar into 1 qt. fresh pineapple juice until dissolved.