Bartender's Choice Dan Smithson, Smokestack, All Rights Reserva
Where the stars behind the bars reveal their favourite drinks
Bartender's Choice: Dan Smithson, Smokestack, All Rights Reserva
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“Basically it’s a full booze cocktail - there’s no fruit juice, no lime juice,” says Smokestack’s head bartender Dan Smithson, as he talks us through the All Rights Reserva, which is one of the bar’s signature cocktails. “Nine times out of 10 when you get a full booze cocktail it’d be stirred, but this one’s shaken, just because it’s so strong - there’s so much booze in it - so shaking it gives you plenty of dilution. And the ice that we use, it’s actually quite wet on the outside; if you get ice that’s too hard, it won’t melt. This stuff is pretty much perfect for the drink.”
We salute his attention to detail, but what inspired him to create the drink? “Me and my colleague came up with it. All the drinks on our blackboard come from classics,” he says. “The All Rights Reserva is from a cocktail called the Beachcomber cocktail. I applied the Beachcomber to whatever we had available to us, twisted it for a modern palate, added a few things, took a few things away, and ended up with the All Rights Reserva.”
Like many of the great classics in the worlds of food and drink, the All Rights Reserva is refreshingly simple. It consists of three different types of quality liquor - one of which is the impressive Diplomatico Reserva rum - that are shaken with ice, before being garnished with a beautiful looking cherry. “We only found those cherries a couple of weeks ago at the market. They’re seasonal cherries, and they’re a really deep red - when you think of cherries, you think of these cherries!” he says.
And like all great classics, the flavours are wonderfully balanced. You might expect it to be an overpowering cherry concoction, with two of the three ingredients bringing that fruit into the mix, but the depth of cherry flavour is at a level of understated perfection. As Dan says: “Because the rum’s so robust, it stands up by itself to the cherry flavours.”
Where did Dan learn his cocktail skills? “I worked at various bars around Leeds, including Oracle, before going down to London where I worked for a bit.” What did he think of London? “I’ve been to Edinburgh, to Dublin, but London’s just a completely different world. It’s the only global city in the UK in my opinion. It’s a fantastic place. But working down there is so different to visiting, and the level of service is just incredible. There’s no room for error, and it’s so seamless. The thing is, when you’re on the receiving end of it, it’s so good - second-to-none - but when you’re delivering it, it’s crazy.”
Ingredients: Diplomatico Reserva 50ml; Cherry Heering liqueur 10ml; Luxardo Maraschino 10ml; cherry garnish.
Price: £6
WIN A BOTTLE OF DIPLIMATICO RESERVA RUM
The people behind Diplomatico Reserva Rum have given us three bottles to give away. Diplomatico Reserva is not only a great drink for cocktails like this one, but also makes an excellent sipping rum. It sells at £24.99 a bottle.
For a chance to win, just answer this simple question.
Complete this phrase. “Ho ho ho and a bottle of….”
Competition closes 18 March
Contest Finished
Sorry, this contest is now over - thanks for your interest!
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Sending you to Twitter, hold on... Comments on Bartender's Choice: Dan Smithson, Smokestack, All Rights Reserva
Comment by Diana Syndoman
Posted on Mon 15th Mar 10 2:45 pm
Comment by Diana Syndoman
Posted on Mon 15th Mar 10 2:46 pm
What a Good Lookin Bar Star..
Comment by Tracey Sykes
Posted on Mon 15th Mar 10 2:51 pm
I agree…..We will definitely give that bar a try…
Comment by Fran Lees
Posted on Mon 15th Mar 10 5:27 pm
He is an excellent barman, I would say the best in Leeds by far. Smokestack is lucky to have him! x
