Chan Chan

Just one sip of this sweet and sour cocktail will transport you somewhere warm, most likely on a beach, and make you feel immediately at ease. Made with tart lime juice, warming spiced honey, banana liqueur and Charanda, a Mexican spirit derived from sugarcane, the Chan Chan perfectly balances fruity sweetness with sour and a bit of spice. 

While the Chan Chan features alluring ingredients with bold flavors, Charanda is truly the star of the show here. This Mexican rum is produced in Michoacan, a state slightly northwest of Mexico City. Much like Champagne, Charanda is protected by a PDO, a legal classification which protects the name Charanda, allowing only bottles produced with approved ingredients and practices to be labeled as such. Charanda is just one of many Mexican rums but is known for its high-altitude sugarcane with concentrated, complex sweetness. The spirit is distilled from the crushed, fresh sugarcane and has a delicious caramel flavor and round mouthfeel.  Nelson German ,

Nelson German, a contestant on Top Chef season 18, and the executive chef and owner of alaMar Kitchen and Sobre Mesa cocktail lounge in Oakland, California, leans on Uruapan Charanda Blanco in this cocktail. Uruapan is an agricultural city in central Michoacan settled in pre-Hispanic times. The name Charanda comes from the native Purepecha language of the region and refers to the reddish brown soil native to the area. 

While it has a gentle, warming flavor, the white rum can range from 40 to 46% alcohol by volume, so pairing it with ingredients like banana liqueur and fresh lime juice help bring everything into balance. Reach for a high quality banana liqueur like Combier to add true banana flavor and just enough sweetness. Top everything off with some freshly grated nutmeg for an extra hit of umami and if you’re feeling it, a cocktail umbrella is always welcome. — Lucy Simon