The Lennox – A legacy in a glass
JOBURG - Winner of the Bacardi Legacy competition in South Africa, Denzel Heath created The Lennox cocktail as his Bacardi Legacy and the perfect cocktail for any occasion, especially World Cocktail Day.
World Cocktail Day is celebrated on 13 May and commemorates the exact date in 1806 when the meaning of the word “cocktail” was first published.
It was published in a New York tabloid as a reply to a question posed by a reader.
While most people think Heath’s cocktail is named after the boxer, Lennox Lewis, Heath actually named the alcoholic beverage after the cocktail bar he ran in the Eastern Cape called The Lennox. Remembering the good times at The Lennox, Heath said, “Filled with bright coloured syrups, fresh fruit and juices and frozen daiquiris, the drinks list was huge. Granted, most of the drinks we made back then were not great but we knew how to host an incredible, fun filled experience.”
Heath created The Lennox cocktail to reflect his diverse and colourful past as well as his passion for hospitality, and the dedication he has to his craft.
He added that bartending had become serious business with very complex cocktails being made. The Lennox is Heath’s throwback to the ’70s and ’80s when ‘tiki’ cocktails made with lots of fruit and fun flavours were all the rage.
Here’s Heath’s recipe for The Lennox:
Double shot of Bacardi Gold
Half a shot of homemade banana syrup
Half a shot of PX sherry
Three to four dashes of pimento bitters (all-spice infused Angostura bitters)
Squeeze of lemon juice
Half a shot of egg white
1. Chill a coupe of martini glass with ice.
2. Pour Bacardi Gold, banana syrup, sherry, bitters and lemon juice into a cocktail shaker.
3. Separate an egg and pour half a shot of the egg white into the cocktail shaker.
4. Add ice to top of cocktail shaker, close shaker and shake ingredients vigorously.
5. Throw ice out of chilled glass and pour the cocktail mix into the glass.
6. Zest a lemon and squeeze some of the lemon oil over the top of the drink then garnish with the lemon zest.
Watch Denzel Heath make a banana syrup:
Watch Denzel Heath make the Lennox cocktail:
Read our previous story, Heath prefers it shaken and stirred.
So celebrate World Cocktail Day by trying out The Lennox or experimenting with your own flavour combinations.
Post your favourite cocktail recipes in the comments section below
