Loren Davidson Rotating Header Image

drinks

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.”

Daffodils in the Morning

Spring is rapidly arriving here in the Bay Area! Fruit trees are starting to bloom, and the bulbs are starting to break through and flower after their long naps.

Picture of daffodils

At this time of year, daffodils greet visitors to my house.

Some of the first flowers to rear their lovely heads are the daffodils. Ours start to show up in early to mid-February, and by now, they’re in full bloom and starting to pass their peak.

The interesting bit about daffodils is that, without a period of chill and darkness, they can’t bloom. I think that may be true for people as well.

Think about it. Contrast is one of the most powerful tools available to the artist for a reason. Nobody oohs and ahs for hours at a picture of a polar bear in a snowstorm. 🙂 But a picture of ocean water, with many different shades of blue and green, always changing…that fascinates folks. Including me.

A picture of the ocean

What makes looking at the water interesting is that it is always changing, and the contrasts between light and dark, blue and green.

Without winter, we wouldn’t appreciate the spring *or* the tropics as much.

Without the occasional challenges and sadness in our lives…we wouldn’t appreciate the joy.

And those challenges, if we choose, can become the vehicles by which we consciously learn to shift into a happier place no matter what we’re in the middle of. It’s a lesson I’m still learning.

I’ve written songs as a result of some of the challenges I’ve been through, and sometimes they help me in the challenges of the present. Sometimes, they help other people with *their* challenges – as the old song goes, “It’s still the same old story.”

One of my older songs, “Clueless in Key Largo,” was about the challenge of love lost, and the opportunity to heal that in a beautiful place.

One of my newer songs, “Looking at You,” is in many ways about that challenge having been met and beaten. With style.

It’s still the same old story.

New Drink Idea!

I came up with a new idea for a drink this morning, while cooking up a “breakfast skillet” of potatoes, onions, garlic, and cheese. I wanted something sort of like a mimosa, but I didn’t have champagne and wasn’t feeling like drinking this early. And fruit juice was too heavy by itself. Here’s what I did:

Daffodil in the Morning

In a tumbler, add ice if you want. Then add:

1 part orange-pineapple juice

1 part fizzy water (mine is lime-flavored)

Mix. Serve with brunch.

It’s tasty, not too heavy, and I’m not going to need a late morning nap because I had too much champagne. 🙂

Here’s what it looked like this morning. You can add your favorite garnishes to make it prettier, or serve it in a champagne glass with a strawberry in it if you want it to look more mimosa-like.

Picture of new drink - Daffodil in the Morning

Daffodil in the Morning