Forum
Bacardi Special
Hit the perfect proportions and you will strike a wondrous balance of flavoursome rum, gin botanicals, limey sourness and fruity sweetness
17th August 2025 at 01:25
Love this. I like that the sweetness is tampered by the lime so it doesn't come across as a sweet but not tart either. Great refreshing drink to sip on. Going to be one of my regulars I'm sure.
14th June 2025 at 19:26
It's on the sweeter side, but that shouldn't be a surprise with the strength and taste guide and the ingredients.
I loved it though, an easy drink that at first seems simple and fruity but actually has quite a bit going on.
I loved it though, an easy drink that at first seems simple and fruity but actually has quite a bit going on.
11th December 2024 at 17:57
So true about tasting, sweetness, botanicals, sour & fruit. Ingredients were standard so a will become a classic go to for me.
30th September 2024 at 23:35
Too sweet for my liking. The grenadine over powers everything. I added 1/2 oz of grapefruit juice and it was still too sweet. I would have chosen lemon juice, but I didn’t want to squeeze a lemon just to try to make it drinkable. It definitely needs some tartness to balance it out.
25th August 2024 at 15:16
Maybe I had a weak grenadine, but 2 drops each of saline solution and Chartreuse Elixir gave this cocktail a backbone.
24th August 2024 at 20:53
When I saw that the recipe called for both Grendine AND simple syrup, I thought, "Let's just go w/ more Grenadine" as a plus up. In fact, it was a plus down. The recipe as stated is better and will be my way to make a BS from this point forward. :)
24th August 2024 at 22:20
Absolutely right. This recipe is perfect to the drop. I, too, was tempted to skimp on the sugar syrup, but disciplined myself just in time!
19th July 2024 at 03:47
Was just as good with Bacardi Black.
24th August 2023 at 02:07
The review is true. Made with homemade grenadine and a more robust, fruity Plantation 3 Star white rum. This was delicious. The floral and fruity notes of the ingredients were very pronounced, but ultimately no one ingredient distinctly stands out on its own. My formulation was a little on the boozy side, so I'll try adding an extra 2.5ml of sugar syrup to balance it.
1st June 2023 at 16:45
More like a Havana Club Special, where I used Havana Club 3. It was delicious, nevertheless, with generous fruity sweetness, esters of the rum (which is why I don't feel so bad using Bacardi Carta Blanca anyway), and botanicals of the gin. The lime's citrus sourness balances everything.
26th October 2024 at 17:12
I totally agree. In my cocktail I used Tanquerey Rangpur Lime Gin and skipped all sugar sirup.
21st May 2023 at 19:22
To me is too sweet, but a Kazakistan girl said it reminds her of the evening sun in the Kajaki steppes. Which, she confessed once pressed from me for more universally-comprehensive terms, is a 4 out of 5.
4th February 2023 at 23:04
Liked this as is. On the sweet side but I think it works.
17th September 2022 at 15:36
Bit too much grenadine for our taste so will consider dialling it back a bit next time.
2nd April 2022 at 01:10
Something almost salty came through in our first. Added 1/4oz Cointreau to the next, took it from about a 5/10 to 7/10 for me. If I try again I'll dial back the added Cointreau a smidge.
We liked the play between the rum and gin, and thought the ratio worked well.
We liked the play between the rum and gin, and thought the ratio worked well.
21st March 2022 at 22:09
Switched El Dorado 3 yr Demarara Rum for Bacardi. Homemade grenadine, simple syrup, lime super-juice and also added bar spoon of syrup from Luxardo cherries jar as mentioned. It actually was not as sweet as I thought it was going to be. Balanced nicely.
29th October 2021 at 00:44
Outstanding. Great cocktail. Not being a fan of Bacardi, we used a rhum agricole, Clement Canne Bleu, as we felt the acricole would blend better with the flavours of the gin. We also followed the advice of one comment and put a spoon of the Maraschino cherry juice in place of the sugar syrup, as we like our drinks a bit sour. It was great.
16th October 2021 at 22:47
Very nice. Homemade grenadine, so the colour was a much more diluted orange, but the flavour was not impacted.
1st June 2021 at 01:04
I make my own grenadine which isn't quite as sweet as store bought and has some actual Pomegranate flavor. This meant that it didn't quite have the color and sweetness that you would expect. Think next time I'll just do a half ounce of grenadine and no simple.
5th March 2021 at 23:46
I added a few drops of citrus bitters after the initial tasting. The cocktail is decent, it went down fast, but I felt the gin was lost and overwhelmed by the rum. I like rum, I like gin, I want to taste both when I drink cocktails that include them.
Anonymous
9th February 2021 at 23:48
Added ten drops of cherry cacao bitters, delicious. Masked the artificial flavor of the Barsmoth grenadine.
30th October 2020 at 23:28
I replaced the grenadine with creme de cassis and I loved it.
7th May 2021 at 14:58
I replaced the grenadine with blackcurrant jam, and dry shaked it first. Worked pretty well but i think your version is bitter, Will try that next time.
12th February 2021 at 17:00
will try this version
Anonymous
28th October 2020 at 20:42
For me, better a little sweeter with 3/4 parts sugar syrup and served with lime slices
17th May 2020 at 01:00
Added one stirring spoon of lexardo juice prior to shaking.
26th December 2020 at 20:32
Seconded
17th May 2020 at 08:07
Presume you mean "Luxardo juice" being the syrup from a jar of maraschino cherries?
If you are concern about the sweetness, drop off the sugar syrup and use a rum which is not adulterated with additional sugar.