The Beertail Craze

ETA: For those of you who found this entry after reading my Southern Magic recipe, I apologize in advance for the background re-tell.  You can skip the first paragraph if you already know the story behind my intro to beer cocktails...ha

 My first experience with cocktails featuring beer was at Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans this past summer.  There were a couple of guys in one of the tasting rooms mixing up a concoction using ROOT liqueur, egg white, and Sierra Nevada (I can't find the recipe.  I may have it in my TotC paperwork somewhere, but it's not in my TotC 2010 recipe book).  I loved the idea so much that when I was starting work on the drink menu for smoQ, I knew that I definitely wanted a "beertail" or two on my list.  The first idea I had also used a brown ale (though the local-to-Cincinnati Mt. Carmel Nut Brown, and with Frangelico as the liqueur), but I instead ended up creating what I named the Southern Magic (involving Maker's Mark, apricot brandy, and Magic Hat #9).  

Today I'm going to write about the new one since it features one of my new favorite liquors to mix--dark rum, and since I just finalized the recipe a couple of days ago I wanted to share.  You can ask me about the Southern Magic when you come in to visit ;-)  

Now...this is a perfect example of how terrible I can be with naming things.  This took me two months and enlisting the help of my serving staff one evening.  I wanted something that evoked the tropical of the Jamaican dark rum, but something that was also a nod to the local beer used in the recipe.  One of my servers nailed it on the head when he said, "You could call it the Staycation."  THAT'S IT!  The Jamaican Staycation it became...and is now how it resides on the summer menu.

Jamaican Staycation
Glass:  Brandy snifter
Method:  Shake, then Box and Strain
Garnish:  No garnish

Combine in mixing glass and shake with ice:
.75 oz  Appleton Estate Reserve dark rum
.25 oz  Frangelico hazelnut liqueur
.25 oz  Simple syrup

Add:
4 oz  Mt. Carmel Nut Brown Ale

Box* ingredients and strain into a brandy snifter.   

*I can't seem to find a good example of "how to box a drink" online, though it's a fairly common method of mixing, so the easiest way to explain is this:  Pour the liquid and ice back and forth between the mixing glass and the shaker a few times to thoroughly combine the ingredients.