There is no trick to it, and anyone who tells you there is has never stood at a rum shop counter on a Friday. CSR and Ting is the drink St. Kitts and Nevis pours without thinking, and the reason it works is that the two halves were made for each other on the same island. Ting is sharp and dry and a little bitter, the way real grapefruit is before sugar gets near it. CSR is clean cane spirit with the grass of the field still on it. The soda cuts the spirit, the spirit gives the soda a spine, and the lime keeps the whole thing honest.
Serves 1
- 50ml CSR Cane Spirit, more if it has been that kind of week
- 1 cold bottle of Ting (around 275ml)
- 1 wedge of fresh lime
- Ice, plenty
Fill a tall glass with ice. Pour the CSR over it. Top with cold Ting, slowly, so it does not foam over. Squeeze the lime wedge in and drop it in the glass. Stir once. Do not measure too carefully and do not garnish beyond the lime.
The rum-shop way. Skip the glass. Pour an inch out of the Ting bottle, top the bottle back up with CSR, thumb the lime in, and drink it from the bottle. This is the version most Kittitians actually make.
The slightly grown-up version. A bar spoon of cane syrup and a heavier squeeze of lime turns it towards a long ti'punch. Good for a slow afternoon. Unnecessary at a cookout.
Shop this recipe: CSR Cane Spirit · Ting Grapefruit Soda