Cool and refreshing: Rizal Junior says rum always goes well with tropical flavours.

If you like Piña Coladas, mojitos and daiquiris, you’ll like this rum segment of our columnist’s classic cocktail series.

MY mojito in La Bodeguita, My daiquiri in El Floridita.” Those immortal words were written by renowned American author Ernest Hemingway, who used to consume copious amounts of mojitos and daiquiris at the famous La Bodeguita and El Floridita bars in Havana, Cuba.

The mojito and the daiquiri are just two examples of classic cocktails that use the Caribbean’s spirit of choice – rum. Distilled from sugar cane by-products, rum has a sweet, refreshing flavour to it that is perfect for sunny, tropical drinks such as the mojito, daiquiri, Mai Tai and the Piña Colada.

It seemed apt that the rum segment of our classic cocktail series was at the sunny and bright Marini’s On 57 on the top floor of Menara 3, Petronas KLCC. Sure, there was not a single palm tree or beach in sight, but with the bright sunshine streaming through the glass and a great view of the Kuala Lumpur skyline from the bar, I couldn’t have asked for a better setting.

Our bartender of the day was Rizal Junior, the bar operation manager and head mixologist for Marini’s On 57. Junior (as he prefers to be known) is one of the Malaysian bartending scene’s best-known bartenders, and is well known for his love of rum and creative rum cocktails. He even represented Malaysia at the Angostura Global Cocktail Challenge earlier this year, having emerged as the champion during the Malaysian qualifying rounds of the competition organised by the rum producers from Trinidad.

“The rum you use makes a big difference in the drinks. Some rum is made from molasses, some from sugar cane juice ... and each type of rum will give the drink a different characteristic,” said Junior.

“Rum always goes well with tropical flavours. Rum and lime is always a good mix, and fruits like pineapple as well. Rum is already sweet, so there’s no point putting too much sugar in the drink, because it would just kill the rum flavours.

“Most bartenders would test a spirit first before making their cocktails, and choose their ingredients that will enhance the spirit. Rum is very easy to make cocktails with, it can have vanilla, chocolate caramel tastes, and it can go with so many of the fruits and other ingredients that are available in Malaysia as well,” he said, adding that the cocktails he chose for the session are the most influential rum cocktails of all time. “Everywhere you go, people will always talk about the daiquiri, mojito and the Mai Tai, and there are so many different versions of these drinks.”

All the cocktails featured here were made by Rizal Junior at Marini’s On 57 (Level 57, Menara 3, Petronas KLCC, KL. Tel: 03-2161 2988. Website: marinis57.com)

■ Michael Cheang’s favourite quote by Ernest Hemingway is ‘Write drunk. Edit Sober.’ Now make him another mojito already ...

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The origins of the mojito
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