Post #539079 by Mr. Moto on Sat, Jun 26, 2010 5:55 AM

I've been puzzling over the Sidewinder's Fang lately. I really like the flavor profile of this drink and always enjoy the first few sips when I make it, but I've found that by the time I've gotten to the bottom of the glass, it's turned into a weak and watery beverage that's difficult to finish. I also feel that it's a wee bit unbalanced: a little too tart and a little too light on the booze. I'm wondering if there's some way to tweak the recipe (the one I use is from Remixed, p. 86, BTW) to make it a winner from start to finish.

I'm thinking one solution would be to reduce the amount of club soda in the drink, maybe by a third or even half. I like the fizziness that the full 3 oz. gives the drink, but I suspect that it plays a role in watering it down. The problem is that the soda helps to cut the tartness of the fruit juices and passion fruit syrup, so reducing the soda will probably make the drink even more tangy than it already is. Maybe this could be countered by upping the dark rum and demerara rum by 1/2 oz. each? Or reducing the juices and syrup to 1 oz. each and keeping the rums where they are? Lastly, I wonder if using a different kind of passion fruit syrup would make a difference. I make my own by combining La Fe passion fruit pulp and simple syrup in equal proportions. I love the flavor of this homemade syrup and it works well in every other tropical drink I've tried it in, but maybe it's not the right syrup to use here.

Any thoughts? I'm not interested in making this a different drink--I just want to enjoy it more fully!