Mrs Mai Tai got me a little aging barrel for Christmas which I used to age a blend of unaged rums that was mostly the infamous Overproof Jamaica rum Rum Fire. That batch turned out great and came out quite dark, though I lost more than half to the angel’s share.
This time I refilled the barrel with Don Q Cristal rum from Puerto Rico. This lightly aged rum is filtered to remove color and like Bacardi doesn’t have a ton of flavor. After three months in the barrel I still lost half to the angels but the residual Rum Fire taste is mildly present and you can see that the liquid is a light gold color.
I made a Mai Tai with this rum and found the funky Rum Fire notes to still be present and quite nice in the cocktail. A Mai Tai made with this style of lighter rum highlights flavors from the orange curaçao and orgeat.
Not sure there’s much left in the little barrel. If you’ve used these more than twice, leave a comment with how it worked.
