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February, 2019:

Adventures in Rum Appreciation

So…a week or so ago, I got a bottle of Smith & Cross Jamaican rum. I hadn’t had it before, and only knew it by reputation. It’s a high-quality rum with a fair bit of what rum connoisseurs call “funk” (technical term), which is a common characteristic of Jamaican rum. It’s a bit strong and not exactly to my taste, so this isn’t a rum I’d drink undiluted.

Today I tried something that made sense: I made a traditional Mai Tai (Vic Bergeron/Trader Vic’s recipe) using the Smith & Cross. It made sense, because the original Mai Tai rum was made with a Jamaican rum – Wray and Nephew 17 year, which is virtually impossible to find these days. And thus, it would seem that the other ingredients were formulated in part around that particular type of Jamaican funk.

Wow. I’d never tasted a traditional mai tai that good before. Using Appleton (which isn’t as funky as the Smith & Cross) works, but something about combining the other ingredients with a true Jamaican funk rum…just *worked*. And the result was eminently drinkable.

I have a couple of other “high-funk” rums on my shelf right now, and I’m going to have to try them out in the recipe to see how they taste. But I’ve got a feeling it may be tough to beat the Smith & Cross, without spending a whole lot of money on a rum with a lot more age on it.

The recipe (as I used it today):

  • 1 oz. light rum (Cruzan light)
  • 1 oz. dark Jamaican rum (Smith & Cross)
  • 1/2 oz. lime juice
  • 1/2 oz. orgeat/almond syrup (I’m using Torani almond syrup)
  • 1/2 oz. orange curacao

Check it out, try it with your own favorite rums, and let me know what you think.

And while you’re sipping, enjoy this song from my Of All the Rum Joints CD, a fun ditty titled “One More Rum.”