Name: Optimist
Total time: 4 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 50 ml Light white rum; 30 ml Fino sherry; 15 ml Lime juice; 15 ml Sugar syrup (2:1); 2 dash Creole bitters

Optimist
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Serve in a Flute glass

Ingredients:
1 ²⁄₃ oz	Light white rum (charcoal-filtered 1-4 years old)
1 oz	Lustau Jarana Fino Sherry
¹⁄₂ oz	Lime juice (freshly squeezed)
¹⁄₂ oz	Monin Pure Cane Syrup (65.0°brix, equivalent to 2:1 rich syrup)
2 dash	Peychaud's or other Creole-style bitters

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

Select and pre-chill a Flute glass.
Prepare garnish of charcoal rim & grapefruit zest twist (discarded).
SHAKE all ingredients with ice.
FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.

Allergens:

Recipe contains the following allergens:

Fino sherry - Sulphur Dioxide/Sulphites

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

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Cocktail of the day:

29th July 2025 is National Lipstick Day

Review:

Fino sherry and Creole bitters brilliantly set this riff on a classic Daiquiri apart. Beautifully balanced and delicately flavoured. If you apply the charcoal rim, perhaps leave a lipstick saving space rather than encircling the rim.

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History:

Adapted from a recipe created in 2014 for Bacardi Legacy by Roman Foltan at the Artesian Bar at The Langham Hotel, London, England.

More cocktails by Roman Foltan

Nutrition:

One serving of Optimist contains 182 calories

Alcohol content:

1.3 standard drinks
16.43% alc./vol. (16.43° proof)
18.2 grams of pure alcohol

More Aperitivo/aperitif cocktails

Difford’s Guide remains free-to-use thanks to the support of the brands in green above. Values stated for alcohol and calorie content, and number of drinks an ingredient makes should be considered approximate.

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Herbert Brant

6th September 2022 at 19:41

Seems to be missing a key ingredient. The cristal rum and fino sherry don't form a strong enough foundation for the drink. Sadly, I found this recipe quite dull and forgettable.

John Hinojos

4th July 2022 at 00:00

A perfect aperitif. Did not find it too sweet, but that would be impacted if the rum has been adulterated with sugar (there are a lot of them) and the sweetness of your sherry. The cocktail starts out being strong on the sherry taste, but that seems to soften as the cocktail breathes.