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Cocktail History
The Airmail is a classic cocktail was first found in the Esquire’s Handbook For Hosts: A Time-Honored Guide to the Perfect Party in 1949. It is essentially a tropical variation of the French 75 made with rum as the base, citrus and a bit of honey as sweeteners, and refreshing sparkling wine to top.
Cocktail Ingredients
To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following ingredients:
Dark Rum: This is the base spirit. We used Appleton Estate’s Gold Jamaican Rum because it’s a great affordable spirit with notes of spices and vanilla. For a mocktail version of this drink, try Caleño Dark & Spicy Tropical Non-Alcoholic Spirit in place of the rum.
Sparkling Wine: This is the other spirit. It’s poured on top at the end to make the drink boozier and add bubbly’s sparkling wine flavor and effervescence. We prefer Villa Bellezza Winery’s Brillante because it was our wedding wine and we love its light and airy taste. For a mocktail version of this drink, try Gruvi Non-Alcoholic Prosecco in place of the wine.
Lime Juice: This adds sour citrus flavors for balance. We prefer to use fresh citrus juice because it’s less bitter than the bottled stuff and tastes much better.
Honey Syrup: This is a sweetener made with honey and water. We made ours at home using Alex’s simple recipe.
Lime Peel: This is the garnish. It adds a bit of lime aroma.
Tasting Notes
The Airmail begins with aromas of lime and dry white wine before featuring the distinct taste of Jamaican rum’s funky flavor profile along with tart citrus balanced by the rich sweetness of the honey, all chased by the zing of sparkling wine in the throat.
Our Opinion of This Cocktail Recipe: As expected, we enjoyed the Airmail and agreed that the rum was the perfect base liquor to stop the sparkling wine from stealing the show as it tends to do. In fact, come summertime when rum is front and center on the menu again, we think we’ll mix up a few more of these for ourselves, air travel or not.
Which of our palates is yours most like?
Find out if your palate is most similar to Alex’s or Kendall’s by answering five questions.
Which of our palates is yours most like?
Find out if your palate is most similar to Alex’s or Kendall’s by answering five questions.
Alex’s Take: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
“This drink is basically a honey-sweetened Daiquiri in a French 75 template, and it’s quite delicious. The Jamaican rum’s funky flavors play a huge role, taking front and center in pretty much every sip, while the lime and honey balance the drink and give the sparkling wine a base. While I was generally a fan, Kendall definitely liked this one more than I did, and I’m happy that I have a new sparkling cocktail to add to her regular menu.”—
Kendall’s Take: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“The Essential Cocktail Book’s description of this cocktail was a ‘Caribbean-inspired French 75,’ and I thought that was the perfect way to think of it. Over the last year, I’ve learned that I’m likely to love just about any cocktail topped with sparkling wine, and this was another winner. In my opinion, most taste like a flavored bubbly, but the rum really shines in this recipe. I would make this again during the summer months when rum is on the menu but I still want some sparkle.”
Recipe
This cocktail recipe was adapted from The Essential Cocktail Book: A Complete Guide to Modern Drinks by the editors of PUNCH and Megan Krigbaum.
Add rum, lime juice, honey syrup, and ice to a shaker.
Shake for 10-20 seconds.
Strain into a highball glass over crushed ice.
Top with sparkling wine.
Garnish with lime peel.
Ingredients
Directions
Add rum, lime juice, honey syrup, and ice to a shaker.
Shake for 10-20 seconds.
Strain into a highball glass over crushed ice.
Top with sparkling wine.
Garnish with lime peel.
Make It a Mocktail: Use Caleño Dark & Spicy Tropical Non-Alcoholic Spirit in place of the rum and Gruvi Non-Alcoholic Prosecco in place of the wine to try a booze-free version of this drink.
Tools & Glassware We Recommend
More Rum Cocktails
If you like this rum cocktail recipe, here are a few others we’ve tried that you may enjoy:
Plum Swizzle: A brandy, rum, and plum wine cocktail made with orange juice, lime juice, orgeat syrup, crème de violette, absinthe, mint, and an orange twist
Zombie: A rum cocktail made with velvet falernum liqueur, Donn’s mix, lime juice, absinthe, grenadine, Angostura aromatic bitters, and mint
Jamaican Mule: A rum cocktail made with ginger syrup, lime juice, pineapple juice, Angostura aromatic bitters, candied ginger, a lime slice, and an orchid blossom
Greena Colada: A rum cocktail made with triple sec, lime juice, lemon juice, Green Chartreuse, velvet falernum liqueur, crème of coconut, mint, and a lime wheel
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