Shiver Me Timbers!!! A Sparkling Pirate Cocktail

Yo Ho A Pirates Cocktail For Me

Before we start making this pirate cocktail let’s see what a pirate is.

First of all, piracy is an act of criminal violence or robbery by ship upon another ship or a coastal area, normally with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable items, those who engage in acts of piracy are called pirates. The era of piracy in the Caribbean began in the 1500s and phased out in the 1830s after the navies of North America and Western Europe with help from the colonies in the Caribbean began fighting back. Pirates still roam the seas to this day, but instead of using Cannons, Cutlasses and Blunderbusses, they use machine guns and rocket propelled grenades.

One of the most famous pirates that roamed the ocean was Edward Teach, best known as Blackbeard, he was born in Bristol around 1680 and died on the 22nd November 1718, alternatively his name was spelt, Edward Thatch, he was an English pirate who operated around the West Indies and the eastern coast of Britain’s North American colonies.

Another famous pirate who you may have heard of was Sir Francis Drake, an English sea captain, privateer, slave trader, pirate, naval officer and explorer of the Elizabethan era, he was born in Tavistock which is in west Devon, he was born around 1540 and died of dysentery on the 28th January 1596 in Portobelo, Panama. Drake was the second person to sail around the world in a single expedition, starting in 1577 and ending in 1580, on his voyage he claimed California for England and found a new route around South America, the body of water is located between South America’s Cape Horn and the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica, this passage was named Drake’s passage.

Elizabeth I awarded Drake a knighthood in 1581 which he received on his ship the Golden Hind in Deptford.

Drake’s privateering led the Spanish to brand him a pirate, known to them as El Draque, in English it means ‘The Dragon’, King Philip II allegedly offered a reward for his capture or death of 20,000 ducats, which is about £6 million or $8 million in modern currency. As a Vice Admiral, he was the second-in-command of the English fleet in the battle against the Spanish Armada in 1588, Drake was playing a game of bowls when he first saw the Spanish fleet approaching but instead of rushing to battle stations he decided to finish his game of bowls.

The Drinks

The Rum

Manchester Drinks, established in 2005, have recently launched a new Spiced Rum liqueur, this authentic Caribbean spiced rum infused with ginger and spiced pear is available now in 500ml bottles for just £8 in Home Bargains Stores.

The Sparkling Wine

The Sparkling Wine I decided to use for this cocktail had a label which I felt fit into the pirate theme I was going for, Semiška Penina Barrique Zelo Suho – Brut, this Sparkling Wine is from Slovenia.

Tasting Notes – “Burnt toast and savoury on the nose. Dry flavours though pleasingly smooth with mild smoky green fruit flavours. A Bronze Medal Winner in the First Date category in The World’s Finest Glass of Bubbly Awards 2019.”

The Cocktail

For this cocktail I used:

• Sparkling Wine
• Rum
• Pineapple Juice
• Mango Juice
• Grenadine

My goal was to create a tropical tasting cocktail which could easily be enjoyed while sitting on a beach in the Carribean, after tasting it, I felt I achieved that goal, I used the mango and pineapple juice to create that tropical fruit flavour, added the sparkling wine for a bubbly feel in the mouth and added the Rum for that little kick, the ginger helped by adding a little spice to the cocktail, last I used a little bit of grenadine to create a difference in colours in the glass and to add a little sweetness.

 

Tasting Notes

Aroma – “The grenadine and mango shine through the most with a hint of pineapple on the nose.”

Taste – “A full pirate experience of flavours where everything takes a shot at your taste buds, the fizz from the Sparkling Wine and sweetness from the grenadine are first to take charge, soon follows hints of ginger from the Rum, pineapple and the mango juice, this combination gives a sweet light and fruity tasting cocktail with an added depth.”

I guess I should give this cocktail a name, I think I’ll call it….. The Golden Hind.

Thanks to Wikipedia for helping me find the facts.