Re-Inventing the Lamington 2012 Day Four: The Lamingtini

(In which Mr. P revisits Brideshead, and the lamington gets a look in as well.)

The fact is, readers, quite a few of my lamington creations in the past have been inspired by drinks, and not just any old beverages. In the main, they have been rather naff drinks from my liqueur cabinet. Witness and appreciate the violet liqueur infused Purple Rain Lamington (my, my, they were delicious), the Pina Colada Lamington (a joy!), and my botched Snowball Lamington (well, you can't see that one because it never made it onto here, but rest assured: there WAS Advocaat and there WAS lime zest. It just... Never quite came into being.) for proof.

Alcohol can be a real brain stormer.

Anyway. While plundering the 'stash' looking for inspiration this year, I thought it was time to give the lamington a drinks cabinet makeover and create a cocktail in its honour. I'm glad I had this idea by the way, because on the reserve list was a Tanqueray and Tonic Lamington, which actually, probably would have been vile.

That just shows you how non-elitist my cocktail cupboard is by the way. The Tanqueray sits quite happily next to the Malibu and Tia Maria, and they all get along fine. Why just yesterday I heard them discussing at great length the best way to rim the glass when making Salty Dog, and honestly, I felt for a short moment that we really were living in a society free from class bias.

Sadly I have to get back to the point.

Meet the Lamingtini. It's not technically of the Martini family, I actually based it on a Brandy Alexander, but using rum, coconut rum and (don't laugh) chocolate milk. In my defence, I couldn't think of a way to get chocolate in there without buying Crème de Cacao, and we've no room in the cupboard. Plus, Frijj is actually pretty good stuff. Don't knock a good thing.

I have a great soft spot for Brandy Alexander by the way, because of that heart breaking (to me at least) scene in Brideshead Revisited (the TV series - sadly I never made it past the first few pages of the novel, which you'd think I'd prefer given it's lack of Jeremy Irons.) when Anthony Blanche orders four of them ('two for you and two for me, yum yum'). If none of you know what I'm talking about, get yourself the DVDs. Though beware: they do feature Jeremy Irons.

I can't find the picture of all the bottles that I took to illustrate the abundance our cupboard contains, but if I remember to look it up, I definitely will post it for you. You'll just have to believe me when I say that I am not an alcoholic, just a young man in his very late twenties with a lust for life and an addiction to kitsch.

The Lamingtini

You will need:

1 measure dark rum (I used Mount Gay, which normally goes in my Rum Punches)
1 measure coconut rum (I used Malibu, which is for my Snow Queens)
3 measures Frijj chocolate milk (though you could use cream, and change the dark rum to Crème de Cacao)

1. Put some ice cubes into a cocktail shaker, and pour in the rum, coconut rum and chocolate milk.
2. Shake for a minute or until your hands are so cold they feel like they might fall off.
3. Strain into a chilled Martini glass.
4. Garnish with optional mini-Lamington.

Re-Invent the Lamington Yourself!