Cooking Lesson 910: Rhinestone Cowboy

…from the Perspectives’ Happy Hour Bar

How you doin’? When my dad was running concessions at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, I got hooked on going to rodeo events when they came to town. I loved to be around the horses... they are truly magnificent animals. 
 
Cassie, our hotel general manager, has kids who are active and winners on the rodeo circuit. Last fall, Joan and I met up with her family at South Point Hotel and Casino where they have rodeo events several times a month. It’s always exciting to watch these brave equestrians, but even more so when they are kids you know. Now we go there several times per month to watch these beautiful creatures and their handlers in action.
 
These rodeo goers travel all around the United States on the circuit competing for prizes from “just for the hell of it” to a million dollars.  Last week I had one of the rodeo moms tell me that it an expensive hobby and the least expensive part of the sport is buying the horse!
 
When Perspectives was designing the bar program at Universal City for the Cripple Creek Saloon—a cowboy bar at the Los Angeles theme park—we developed this recipe that I still make at home today. It pairs perfectly with my 14-hour Texas-style smoked beef ribs.

So put on your best 10-gallon hat, that special belt buckle, spit-shined shit-kickers (cowboy boots) and chaps… then belly up to the bar and enjoy a Rhinestone Cowboy Cocktail. Now, that’s what you call “Cowboying!”
 
Prep time:  7 minutes
Yield:  1 cocktail
 
Ingredients 
1-1/4 ounce white rum
1 ounce Bacardi Dark rum
1 ounce apricot brandy
2 ounces fresh orange juice
2 ounces pineapple juice
1/2 ounce Sloe Gin
1/2 ounce 151 Proof Rum
Orange peel
 
Directions

1. Fill a bucket glass with scooped crushed ice.
2. Build the cocktail over the ice starting with the white rum, Bacardi, apricot brandy and orange and pineapple juices.
3. Over the back of a spoon slowly bleed the Sloe Gin over the ice.
4. Float the 151 rum on top of the Sloe Gin.
5. Garnish with a slice of  orange peel.
6. Carefully light the 151 and serve.

ChefSecret:  Because of its high alcohol content, Bacardi 151 is particularly flammable among liquors. For this reason it was often used as the ignition source for "flaming shots" and cocktails.

Quip of the Day:  On the rodeo circuit the more secure way to double your money is by folding it in half and putting it back into your pocket.
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​#Cocktail #HappyHour #RhinestoneCowboy #Rum #151Proof #SloeGin #Bacardi #SummertimeHappyHour #Cheers #2024Recipes #URM #T2T #FeedingAmerica #RedCross #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup  

                                                                               ©PERSPECTIVES/The Consulting Group, LLC, 2024

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