Treasures, Traditionals, and Tropicals. Magnificent Rums for you to try!
Treasures, Traditionals, and Tropicals. Rums to try and how to try them. This is the second month of this format and we like it. We also hope that you like it too. The idea is to shine the light on fantastic rums for you to pick up and try and show you some fun ways to enjoy them.
Treasures: Don Q Single barrel
This is the second offering in a lineup of signature, limited-edition releases from Don Q. The 2007 Single Barrel rum from Don Q is absolutely lovely. It’s got candied sweet aromas that imply chocolate orange and Cinnamon dusted French toast drizzled with honey buttressed with a wonderfully surprising funkiness that carries elegant fruity nuances, vanilla and caramel in an interesting complex and inviting manner. The taste initially gives the perception of sweetness, showing flavors that build from the aroma adding coconut, slight pepper. passion fruit with a variety of spice and nuance from the oak. It is clean and very well-balanced. This is lovely, honest, column distilled rum with a lingering finish that drifts away with spiced hints of fruit and reminders of all the sweet nuances tasted initially. What a great opportunity to try a singular expression from Don Q. This is limited and unique, it will go away.
Traditionals: Lost Spirits Cuban Inspired 151 proof
It’s funny putting this into the “Traditional” section because Lost Spirits is anything but “Traditional”! But this section is a focus on Classic Rum Cocktails and Lost Spirits Cuban Inspired Rum flavors remind of the kind of rums that used to be made; there is a power and a fierceness to this rum that’s incredibly beautiful. The aromas and flavors show berries and forest floor characteristics with oxidized mint, flowers, herbs, vanilla beans and finish with this nuanced, complex convergences of flavor and elegantly warming spirit. This is absolutely perfect to make a cocktail, especially a classic. The cocktail I chose is a Fluffy Ruffles, from Hugo Ensslin’s Recipes for Mixed Drinks (1916-1917. It’s a fantastic drink, perfectly suited to enjoy all through the evening, but I find that it works better with higher proof rum.
Fluffy Ruffles
1.25 oz Lost Spirits Cuban
1.25 oz Sweet Vermouth
Garnish with zest of a lime (it calls for the whole rind; I love taking 2 lime shells that have been juiced and shaking all the ingredients together with ice) ~~remember if to adjust the ratios to find the flavor profile you desire, as always, and enjoy.
Tropicals: Lemon Hart 151
This historical rum is back in the marketplace and tastes as fantastic as ever. I was at my favorite local Tiki Bar, The Tonga Hut, and I had an opportunity to taste the several bottles of this from various time periods. This is easily as good or better than any bottling of lemon Hart 151 we tasted. It’s an amazingly complex and strong spirit that stands up in a variety of cocktails and with a variety of juices. This drink is a tropical gem that will have you dancing a jig in no time; it is from their website and it usually calls for the 80 Proof (Original 1804), but it is fantastic with the 151, so I’ll let you choose.
Wizard
2 oz Lemon Hart (You pick)
2 oz Pineapple juice
2 oz Orange juice
Splash of Grenadine
Shake with ice, strain into a highball glass filled with crushed ice and serve with a twist of orange.
An easy cheat to make fantastic grenadine from scratch is get some good quality, 100% Pomegranate Juice, mix 1 cup of the juice with 1 cup of sugar and shake it like it owes you money (until you can see through it). Set it done and shake it well before each use. Refrigerate what you don’t finish and it will last a couple weeks.
There you have it, a Rum to Treasure, a Rum to shine in a Traditional cocktail and a Rum to roar in a Tropical treat. From the Rum Lab–ENJOY!
