In baseball, a grand slam is when a home run is hit with all three bases occupied, thereby scoring four runs, the maximum possible in one play. Of course, if we’re talking tennis, the phrase has a different connotation; it refers to the four most important tennis events of the year.
In either case, a Grand Slam is a big deal, a raging success, which is what you have with this cocktail that originally appeared in David Embury’s The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks and has been updated by bar pro Allen Katz, the cofounder of New York Distilling Company. It employs two different styles of rum—an aged Nicaraguan Spanish-style rum and a Bermudan black rum—plus a French triple sec made in consultation with drinks historian David Wondrich and based on a 19th-century recipe. It’s all brightened with a hit of lemon juice, and balanced with sweet-yet-flavorful grenadine for a tropical-leaning drink that’s easy to, ahem, slam down quickly.
Whether you’re celebrating the start of baseball season, looking for something to concoct during the playoffs, or are venturing beyond the Honey Deuce or Pimm’s Cup as your new tennis-match sip, this cocktail is sure to be a home run.