In the rare event you have been living under a rock, tomorrow, August 21, 2017, there is going to be a solar eclipse across much of the United States. Why is this eclipse special? According to NASA, the last total solar eclipse viewed from contiguous United States was more than 38 years ago on Feb. 26, 1979 whose path passed through the northwestern U.S. states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, and Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec. After the August 2017 total solar eclipse, the next annular solar eclipse that can be seen in the continental United States will be on October 14, 2023 which will be visible from Northern California to Florida. Following this, we will have a total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024 visible from Texas to Maine. With this intriguing astronomical event occurring, we decided to blog about a drink dedicated to the event.

We had a difficult time finding the right drink to celebrate the eclipse.  Thanks to our friends drink research team, Megan and Jason, who gave us feedback and tasted a few beverages. We finally found a drink that is easy, tasty and fresh for the occasion.

This drink may sound quite familiar to you once you see the ingredients: Zaya Rum, blue curacao, simple syrup, pineapple juice and lemon juice.  Shake over ice, strain and serve.  We adapted our recipe from one we found in Vintage Cocktails by Assouline.

Because we used Zaya Rum instead of a light rum, the flavor of the Zaya dictates the essence of the drink.  This drink a slightly sweeter than what both of us typically prefer, but the taste is refreshing and easy to drink. Remember, you can always make a lighter version by preparing Stevia simple syrup instead of regular simple syrup.  We shared the Stevia simple syrup recipe with you in our Mojito post.

The thing that really makes this drink is the ice.  Different kinds of ice cubes are definitely a thing in the cocktail world.  A drink can have a totally different look based on the ice that is used.  We plan to write a future post that is just about ice.  We made this sphere of ice ourselves.  We have a Neptune Ice Ball tray. You can buy them on Amazon and we also found some at World Market and Target.  The ultimate ice ball can be made from one from Sharper Image for around $400 or Williams Sonoma for more than $900.  Yes, for round ice!

Neptune Ice Ball Tray

Sphere Ice Mold from the Sharper Image

The Eclipse

• 1 ½ oz. Zaya Rum
• ¾ oz. Blue Curacao
• ¾ oz. Fresh Lemon Juice
• 1 oz. Simple Syrup
• 2 oz. Pineapple Juice

Shake or blend all ingredients with ice and strain into a glass. Garnish with a sphere ice cube.

We hope that you enjoy viewing the eclipse or following it live from NASA. Make sure you are wearing your glasses. Be sure to mix yourself an Eclipse to celebrate the event!