According to legend, the Rum Runner cocktail was originally developed when “Tiki John” Ebert improvised a new cocktail based on leftover ingredients at the Holiday Isle Resort in the Florida Keys in 1972.
And, strangely, looking at leftover bottles is also what led me to making this cocktail.
I was going through one of the main liquor cabinets at home and thought maybe it was time to take look at dumping stuff I’m no longer using or to finish up an almost empty bottle. This was the case with my beloved Giffard Banane du Brésil, almost empty (and with a spare bottle already at the ready). I look way in the back and saw a bottle of Blackberry Brandy. I’ve head this for years and it’s been so long I don’t even remember why I had it.
Banana and Blackberry… what could I make? Thankfully, I remembered these were the two cornerstone ingredients in a Rum Runner.
Rum Runner
1½ oz Lime Juice
⅞ oz Banana Liqueur (Giffard)
⅞ oz Blackberry Brandy (Hiram Walker)
⅝ oz Grenadine
¾ oz 151 Proof Puerto Rican Rum (Cruzan)
Fill 5 cup blender half full with ice cubes and blend until smooth.
I blended until smooth and poured into a bamboo glass and it was a perfect pour right to the rim!
The above recipe is what’s on the souvenir cup pictured in the Total Tiki App and differs slightly from the listed recipe by using less grenadine. In actuality, this is too much ice for the amount of rum and liqueurs. Pretty flavorless and leans a little tart. So, I added about an ounce more of the Blackberry Brandy and it did improve the cocktail. The recipe on the cup doesn’t specify a type of rum and certainly a Demerara 151 likely would also improve this.
I’ve heard the Banana is lost in this and I must concur. Maybe I should have used artificial creme de banana instead of this good Giffard liqueur.
