Creating a new cocktail just because the name would be funny has got to be the dumbest idea ever. So obviously, people do it all the time. I’m a little teensy bit guilty of that conceit myself, from time to time. Listen, I just can’t resist a good pun (or a good cocktail). I’m not saying that all puns are good. Like the time this pun once went berserk, walked into a carnival with a mallet and whacked all ten moles. The news headline the next day read, Pun in, ten dead.

 So here’s my amusingly tasty whack at a daiquiri variation. The daiquiri is an elegantly simply combination of rum, lime juice and sugar syrup, and is one of the best ways to enjoy a good rum, when made with the proper proportions. It’s a true classic. A little tweak here or there to the template, or the subtle addition of an extra flavor, can make a new drink, at once familiar, yet fresh and interesting. Mole is a traditional Mexican sauce that is rich in flavor from chilis, nuts, fruits, and spices. It classically includes dark chocolate as well. Cocktail bitters are the seasoning used in many cocktails to introduce subtle undertones and tie all the flavors together. Traditional bitters like baking spice heavy Angostura and creole seasoned Peychaud’s have been joined by just about every flavored bitter conceivable over the last two decades. One popular mainstay has been the chocolate bitter, most popular as a chocolate “mole” bitter and often referred to as Xocolatl, the Aztec word which predated chocolate. Based purely on a pun, I added a healthy dose of mole bitters to a daiquiri, and discovered a great new spin on the classic. Holy mole - Olé!

Daq a Mole

2 oz white rum

1 oz fresh lime

½ oz simple syrup

8 dashes Xocolatl Mole bitters

Shake ingredients with ice and strain into a favorite glass. Lime twist or Whack a Mole garnish, optional.

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