Aranciata Cocktail

     To begin my venture into the world of cocktail blogging I decided to try what drives me, the craft cocktail. For my first cocktail I came across a recipe for the Aranciata Cocktail: rum, bitters, and San Pellegrino Aranciata orange soda. Aranciata is a soda mix of concentrated fruit juice, sugar, and soda water, it has the taste of a sparkling orange juice. This cocktail intrigued me a lot, especially considering my love of rum.
      I first tried it with Cruzan Single Barrel, which I had in the cupboard, and mixed it with the only bitters I had, Angostura. The drink turned out acceptable but lacking.  I always find Cruzan Single Barrel to be a bit too dry for my liking.
     Next I purchased a bottle of Bacardi 8 which is my standby favorite for all cocktails. It mixed well, but it has its place in other cocktails for me.
     A thought came to mind for my next mix combo - for an orange cocktail why not try an orange forward rum?  I grabbed a bottle of Pyrat XO Reserve which has a prominent orange undertone, threw in the other ingredients and....

     We have a winner... In my opinion this is what the Aranciata Cocktail should taste like.