I’d like to think that if you were to vis­it the mys­ti­cal utopi­an Shangri-La, of the nov­el Lost Hori­zon (1933), you’d be sip­ping this cock­tail as you gazed over the har­mo­nious val­ley of the Himalayan Moun­tains. Speak­ing of har­mo­nious, basil and grape­fruit are the per­fect com­bi­na­tion to set off any sun­ny weath­er occa­sion. Pair that with the nat­ur­al com­bi­na­tion of rum and faler­num and we are well on our way to an exquis­ite cock­tail expe­ri­ence. The addi­tion of grena­dine will add a touch of sweet­ness and col­or, while the basil and Angos­tu­ra Bit­ters on top of the cock­tail add a sen­so­ry lev­el of aro­mat­ics. Sip and dream my friends. Sip and dream…

The Shangri-La Cocktail

• 2 oz Flor de Caña Grand Reserve 7 year Rum
• 1 1/2 oz fresh grape­fruit juice
• 1/4 oz house made grena­dine
• 1/4 oz house made faler­num
• mud­dled 3–4 Basil leaves
• Gar­nish with Basil and a cou­ple dash­es of Angos­tu­ra Bit­ters on top

First smack the 3–4 basil leaves in your hand and add to you cock­tail shak­er. Tap the basil light­ly with you mud­dler. Add all ingre­di­ents into your cock­tail shak­er except the gar­nish. Shake with ice and dou­ble strain into a dou­ble old fash­ioned glass. Gar­nish with a basil sprig and a cou­ple dash­es of Angos­tu­ra Bit­ters on top.

Pho­tog­ra­phy by Sean Schei­dt.