For this week's Happy Hour, I’m harkening back to the drink that taught me to truly appreciate the flavor of spirits: the Southside.

Many years ago, I was a semi-regular at a private beach club as the guest of a friend (What’s up, Vince!). For the first time, I was privy to how the other half lives: The parking lot dotted with vintage Mercedes, people named Muffy and Scooter who looked like they'd popped out of a Polo ad. Guests with windswept hair lounged about and dined alfresco, attended by young men in white who scurried to set up their umbrellas and pull out their chairs. But what really impressed me about this rarefied environment was the bar—and, specifically, the Southside cocktail. I've always liked drinking, of course, but I didn’t always enjoy the taste. So when I sipped a properly balanced cocktail for the first time—one with fresh lemon juice and sugar and a hit of fresh mint that accompanied the flavor of the alcohol instead of masking it—a light went on. I finally understood the intrinsic appeal of spirits. And I’ve never looked back.

The Southside works with pretty much any base spirit. My first was with bourbon, but if you simply say “Southside” at the beach club, you'll get a rum drink. It was originally made with gin, and legend has it that the Southside was invented at the esteemed 21 Club in New York City; it is the signature cocktail of that establishment to this day, which could also explain why it's so popular with the country-club set.

A seedier version of the Southside's roots has it that Chicago gangsters (from the South Side) were looking to hide the taste of nasty Prohibition-era bathtub gin. But regardless of its origins, the Southside is a light, refreshing cocktail that's easy to make and just screams for sand and surf. And to make this week's Happy Hour truly special, I managed to track down veteran barkeep Roger Latter, the very same man who served me my first Southside all those years ago, for the recipe. Enjoy!

The Southside
(Recipe courtesy of Roger Latter)

What you'll need:
2 oz dark rum (Roger prefers Mount Gay rum, but any quality base spirit works fine)
1 oz fresh sour mix  (Make a simple syrup by boiling 1/2 cup of water and stirring in 1/2 cup of  sugar until it dissolves. Let it cool and combine with 1/2 cup lemon and 1/2 cup lime juice.)
8 to 10 fresh mint leaves

How to make it:
Combine ingredients in a shaker and shake vigorously so the mint bruises slightly. Pour and serve. Garnish with a lemon wedge. 

Via: Happy Hour The Southside