Name: Horchata Borracha
Total time: PLACEHOLDER
Ingredients: 20 ounces water; 5 ounces whole, slivered, or sliced blanched almonds; ½ cup sugar; ¼ cup long-grain white rice; ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract; ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon , plus extra for garnishing; 1/4 teaspoon table salt; 6 ounces white rum; 4 ounces heavy cream; Lime slices

Why This Recipe Works

The traditional milky drink of horchata is typically made by steeping raw rice, and sometimes various nuts or seeds, in water with warm spices, then blending the mixture to creamy goodness. It's the perfect complement to spicy Mexican cuisine or fantastic on its own—no wonder tasters were easily hooked in the test kitchen. Our borracha (“drunken”) version started traditionally enough, but we found that adding almonds to the rice base lent more complex flavor and a creamier feel to the beverage. We combined water, almonds, sugar, and rice with vanilla extract and cinnamon. Letting the mixture soak overnight not only softened the nuts and rice (making blending easier) but also deepened the flavor infusion. Then we blended the mixture until the rice and almonds broke down. The addition of heavy cream helped make the horchata even creamier (tests of half-and-half revealed insufficient creaminess, while sweetened condensed milk made the drink too sweet). Our spirit of choice for our Horchata Borracha was clear: The lighter body and tropical toasted-sugar flavors of white rum were ideal.

Instructions

Combine water, almonds, sugar, rice, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt in bowl. Cover and let sit at room temperature for at least 12 hours or up to 24 hours.

Set fine-mesh strainer over 8-cup liquid measuring cup and line with triple layer of cheesecloth that overhangs edges. Process almond mixture in blender until smooth, 30 to 60 seconds, scraping down sides of blender jar as needed.

Transfer mixture to prepared strainer and let drain until liquid no longer runs freely, about 5 minutes. Pull edges of cheesecloth together to form pouch, then firmly squeeze pouch to extract as much liquid from pulp as possible; discard pulp. You should have 2 cups liquid. Stir in rum and cream, cover, and refrigerate until completely chilled, at least 1 hour or up to 2 days. Stir to recombine, then pour into chilled collins glasses filled with ice. Garnish with lime slices and cinnamon and serve.