Tucano’s
277 Goulburn Street, Surry Hills
Tucanos.com.au
For this month’s Threeway, The House of Angostura teamed up with the folks at Tucano’s to showcase a selection of cocktails highlighting the bar’s signature spirit – rum and their favourite go-to ingredient Angostura Bitters.
With summer just around the corner, each of these drinks is a perfect all-night sipper, featuring options such as a delicious alcoholic version of an Angostura Lemon, Lime & Bitters (see the Summer Lime & Bitters), the refreshing Orange Crush, and, of course, the classic Old Cuban. This drink, a fantastic twist on the Mojito from bartending legend Audrey Saunders, substitutes soda for Champagne.
Kudos to Bec Bayley and Steve Davis from Tucano’s for their creative drinks and for hosting our photoshoot. Be sure to visit them this summer and enjoy some of their delectable rum cocktails.
About Angostura
Angostura is commonly associated with its renowned Bitters, tracing its origins back to 1824 when Dr. Siegert began crafting Angostura Bitters in Angostura, Venezuela. Angostura BItters is a mainstay of all backbars. If you have to have a bitters, it’s probably Angostura. The success of this can be traced back to Siegert’s sons who pioneered the use of bitters in food and drinks in the 1970s.
The rum facet of the brand truly emerged post-Siegert, with his sons relocating the business to Trinidad after his passing. To craft their iconic range of rums, Angostura relies on Trinidadian molasses and has retained the same yeast strains since the inception of production. They use a dual distillation approach allows Angostura to masterfully blend a diverse array of rums.
The core aging process occurs in ex-bourbon American white oak casks, housed across five warehouses totaling between 60,000 to 80,000 barrels. These casks are typically reused up to three times before being either discarded or recycled. Post-aging, the rums undergo meticulous blending to achieve their distinctive profiles.
The Bitters
The Iconic Angostura aromatic bitters, infuse cocktails with complex herbal flavors, a blend of spices, and a touch of bitterness. Angostura orange bitters, a vibrant variation, adds zesty citrus notes to drinks, elevating classic and modern cocktails with a delightful, aromatic twist.
The Rums
Angostura Reserva offers a dry taste with warm vanilla flavors, ending smoothly with hints of tropical fruits. Its clarity makes it perfect for fruit-based cocktails. With a medium-bodied palate, it features coconut, molasses, and traces of apple.
Angostura 5-year-old is a blend of light rums aged in bourbon casks for five years. It boasts aromatic woody notes, chocolate, vanilla, and tropical fruit flavors, ideal for pairing with spices or sipped neat over ice.
Angostura 7-year-old is a robust rum with flavors of maple, chocolate, honey, and toffee, ending in a classic rum finish. Silky and full-bodied, it reveals its true character when allowed a moment in the glass, perfect for sipping neat or on ice, and it also makes exceptional mixed drinks.
ORANGE CRUSH
30ml Angostura 5yo
15ml Italian Orange Aperitif
30ml mango nectar
10ml sugar
20ml lime
4DS Angostura orange bitters
Top soda
Shake and strain into a Collins glass.
Top with soda.
Garnish with mint sprig & orange wheel
SUMMER LIME & BITTERS
30ml Angostura Reserva
15ml lime oleo
4DS Angostura aromatic bitters
Top mandarin soda
Build in a fancy tall glass.
Garnish with skewered lime zest
OLD CUBAN
A great refreshing modern classic.
6 whole mint leaves
30ml simple syrup
20ml lime juice, freshly squeezed
45ml Angostura 7 years
2 dashes Angostura aromatic bitters
60ml Champagne, chilled
Shake all ingredients (excluding Champagne)
Strain & top with Champagne
Garnish with a mint sprig