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Cable Car

Citrusy · Contemporary classic · Sours (citrus)

4.2 151 ratings

Ingredients

1 1/2 oz Spiced rum
3/4 oz Orange Curaçao
1 oz Lemon juice
1/3 oz Sugar syrup 'rich' (2:1)
1/3 oz Egg white (pasteurised)

How to make

Serve in a coupe glass

Prepare

  1. 1 Select and pre-chill a COUPE GLASS.
  2. 2 RIM glass with sugar and cinnamon powder. (Moisten outside edge with lime juice and dip into mix of 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder to ½ cup white sugar.)
  3. 3 Prepare garnish of coin-sized orange zest twist.

Method

  1. 4 SHAKE all ingredients with ice and strain back into shaker.
  2. 5 DRY SHAKE (without ice) to emulsify.
  3. 6 FINE STRAIN into pre-prepared glass.

Garnish

  1. 7 EXPRESS orange zest twist over the cocktail and use as garnish.

Flavour profile

16.9% alc./vol. · 1.5 standard drinks · 211 calories

History

This citrus sour is a spiced rum variation on a Sidecar. Vanilla and spice notes from the rum complement the orange liqueur.

Tony Abou-Ganim created this drink in 1996 at the Starlight Room. This venue was then a nightclub and cocktail lounge situated atop San Francisco's Sir Francis Drake Hotel, which is now known as the Beacon Grand Hotel. The bar's location, with Nob Hill cable cars passing by, inspired its catchphrase, "between the stars and the cable cars," and subsequently gave the contemporary classic cocktail its name. Allegations suggest Cory Reistad may have created the Cable Car. However, Tony Abou-Ganim addresses these claims, stating, "Cory Reistad did indeed work at the Starlight Room with me although not as a member of the opening team. All the menus were created by myself and yes other bartenders were encouraged to participate but the Cable Car was one of my creations which did indeed go on the menu and was created in 1996." Tony's original recipe from 1996 called for: 1½ oz Captain Morgan Spiced Rum, ¾ oz Marie Brizard orange curaçao and 1½ oz fresh lemon sour mix. This sour mix was prepared using a 2:1 ratio of freshly squeezed, filtered lemon juice to simple syrup.

Created by Tony Abou-Ganim