The Bacardi Legacy competition is in full swing, with the winners for this stage all working hard to tell the world about their cocktails.

It’s been a busy season for cocktails in The Westbury – over Christmas the team shook up 3,000 cocktails in the Marble Bar! We’ve chatted to Micheál O Shea, Head Bartender at the Marble Bar, about his success so far (read the interview here). Since we spoke, Micheál has also been announced as the new President of the Bartenders Association of Ireland.

But we wanted to hear more about VAMOS, the cocktail he has created, as well as have a cheeky taste ourselves! We sat down with him in the cosy bar in Wilde to find out more.

VAMOS translates as ‘Let’s go!’ from Spanish, and that’s the attitude that Micheál wants to convey with his drink. The idea behind the competition is to create a cocktail that will be as popular as a drink like the classic Mojito. The base is, of course, Bacardi rum, and Micheál has created a cocktail that’s zingy, refreshing and the perfect accompaniment to the classic rum flavours.

“As for the inspiration for VAMOS, I looked into the history of the Bacardi family” said Micheál. “I was inspired by the relationship between Don Facundo and his son Emilio. VAMOS means 'Let's go' in English.  I wanted it to reflect the positive attitude of the Bacardi family but specifically that of  Don Facundo and Emilio.

“I wanted to create a drink that my father would be able to make with ingredients that would be readily accessible to him in his home. My dad went on to make a video of himself shaking a VAMOS at home!” (See this video at the bottom of the post!)

As Micheál says, all of the ingredients you need are of the kind you can usually find in your kitchen. The only ingredient that you mightn’t immediately have to hand is a nutmeg honey syrup…

Why honey syrup?

Micheál says that “honey syrup is basically honey and hot water. If you put actual honey in the cocktail, it will stick to the ice in the drink. Initially I put fresh nutmeg in the drink, but it mixes much better with the syrup. Making a syrup means that you have the honey and nutmeg flavours, but it blends a lot better.”

Here’s how to make your own…

Mix 2 parts honey with 1 part hot water. Add 1 tsp of nutmeg (powdered or grated) per 200ml of syrup. After a few minutes of infusing fine strain the syrup to remove the nutmeg.

This will keep well in the fridge – just bring up to room temperature before using.

So how do you make the VAMOS? It’s as easy as pie… 

Ingredients

• 60ml Bacardi Carta Blanca
• 20ml lime juice
• 25ml cloudy apple juice
• 20 ml nutmeg honey syrup (directions above)
• 5 to 7 green grapes (halved)

Shake all the ingredients with ice. Double strain into a chilled coupe (the rounder champagne glass). Garnish with a lime twist.

If you try your hand at making your own VAMOS, let us know by tagging in  @TheWestbury Check out the VAMOS on Facebook here.