Qeshm
Rum and two limes from the Persian Gulf: white rum, a splash of aragh, fresh lime and dried-lime syrup, salt on half the rim.
Ingredients
| Ingredient | ml | oz |
|---|---|---|
| White rum | 45 ml | 1½ oz |
| Aragh sagi (Iranian raisin spirit) | 10 ml | ⅓ oz |
| Fresh lime juice · homemade, J01 | 25 ml | 0.8 oz |
| Dried lime syrup · homemade, P27 | 15 ml | ½ oz |
| Plain saline · homemade, P29 | 2 drops | |
| Dried-lime rim salt · homemade, G02 | half rim |
Ounces are rounded; measure in ml for accuracy. Homemade items link to their own page.
chilled coupe, half-rimmed with dried-lime salt
shaken with ice, served up
a dried-lime salt half rim and a thin dried lime wheel floating
The story
Qeshm is the largest island in the Persian Gulf, a long slab of salt domes and mangrove forest where wooden lenj boats are still built by hand and limes are dried on rooftops until they turn black and light as paper. Limoo amani, the dried lime, is the island’s taste: sour, smoky, a little bitter, in every fish stew. Rum, two limes and salt. Our dried-lime syrup carries the island’s taste, ten millilitres of aragh add a dry, raisiny edge under the rum, and a dried-lime salt rim means you can taste the island with or without it. Hormuz Breeze is the long cousin; this is the short, cold, strong one.
Method
- Half-rim a chilled coupe with dried-lime salt.
- Shake the rum, aragh, lime juice, dried lime syrup and saline hard with ice for 12 seconds.
- Double-strain into the coupe.
- Float a thin dried lime wheel.
How it tastes
Fresh lime first, then the earthy, fermented sourness of dried lime, the rum clean underneath, a dry rasp from the aragh, salt on the lip. Pale cloudy gold. Strong and very cold.
Persian taste: torsh (sour), shoor (salt), talkh (bitter)
Pair it with
- Food: Grilled fish with coriander and lime, or Bandari shrimp.
- Sweet: Ranginak, or a date.
- Snack: Mahi sorkh-kardeh, fried fish bites with lime
Variations
Long
Hormuz Breeze: the same idea over ice with soda.
No aragh
55 ml rum: rum and the two limes alone.
Golpar
A pinch of golpar in the rim salt.
Balancing tips
- Dried lime syrup is bitter when overdosed; 15 ml is the ceiling.
- A half rim, so each sip can be salted or not.
- Shake hard; this drink wants dilution and cold.
Allergens
- No common allergens.
- Contains alcohol. Please drink responsibly.
Development notes
- Status: original recipe draft v0.1, not yet taste-tested.
- Test aragh at 10 and 15 ml.
- Try a dried-lime powder dusting instead of the wheel.
Watch it mixed
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Qeshm Island, Hormozgan, imagined
