It was Calvin Coolidge who first told us, “The chief business of the American people is business.” That’s never more true than it is here in Miami, where the whole hemisphere comes to find new markets and make new connections. From Henry Flagler to Al Capone and Micky Arison to Pablo Escobar, we’ve cornered the market on colorful capitalists. We also know how to have a good time, which, as any experienced Biscayne tippler knows, is always good business.
So lift a glass to the Biscayne Corridor’s latest success story: Danielle Zighelboim, who recently earned a spot on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list as co-founder of Coconut Cartel. The local rum company with the notorious name first took root when Danielle’s brother, Mike, was in El Salvador on a golf course, badly hung over. A friend found one of the local coconuts and simply popped it open with a key. It made a sound like a juice box. One sip changed the Zigs’ lives forever. It was so easy to open! It was refreshing and all-natural! It was smooth, sweet and absolutely delicious!
Courtesy Coconut Cartel
Siblings Danielle and Mike Zighelboim.
Mike took 300 of them home to Miami.
Now, the El Salvadoran coconut is not like the ones growing in Florida today. Most of our large, husky coconuts grow on palm trees brought in to replace those wiped out by lethal yellowing in the 1970s. In order to import the smaller, sweeter El Salvadoran variety legally (which is how this cartel does things), the fruit must be de-husked in such a way that customs officials classify them as nuts and not seeds.
Coconut Cartel sold its first fresh, made-for-selfies nuts-not-seeds in Biscayne-area bars and hotels, capitalizing on the coconut water trend. Soon, celebrities were spotted sipping the company’s premium import up and down the East Coast. Then, Danielle and Mike started blending the coconut water with Guatemalan dark rum. Now, they’re selling it globally.
“We’re a rum company that likes coconut water,” Danielle explained. “We like what it does to the spirit, the mouth feel, the tropical flavor. It’s like a fountain of youth!”
The coconut water – fresh, not from a tetra pack – adds a depth and smoothness that makes the rum taste like a summer refresher, but pours like an aged spirit in mixed drinks.
“It’s like a tropical whiskey, more oaky and dry than you would think of any other rum,” said Danielle. “It makes an amazing base for any super-boozy cocktail. It can even replace the gin in a Negroni.”
Rum drinks usually evoke summer, served in a tall glass over plenty of ice. But it’s January now. When asked for her favorite cocktail for sipping when even South Florida feels the tiniest chill in the air, Danielle serves up a Coconut Cartel Old-Fashioned.
“It’s easy to make at home, and easy to impress people with,” she said. “My husband’s Canadian, so he winterized it for us. We really enjoy using maple syrup instead of demerara. But you’ve got to splurge on the syrup. Use the good stuff!”
EASY WINTER OLD-FASHIONED
INGREDIENTS
• 2 ounces Coconut Cartel Rum
• 2-3 barspoons of maple syrup
• 2-3 dashes of chocolate bitters (Ms. Zig recommends Bittermens Xocolatl Mole Bitters.)
• Dash coffee bitters
• Orange peel
METHOD
• Mix rum, maple and bitters in a mixing glass with ice; stir for 30 seconds.
• Strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice.
• Express orange peel into cocktail and drop peel into drink.
Sip and enjoy!