Author: Kevin Crossman

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Incognito Mode at Zombie Village

Our planned couples night had dinner at China Live and then drinks at Starlite, so I dressed for those locations. But as things often work out in San Francisco, we soon found ourselves at a tiki bar since Zombie Village is just a short walk from Union Square. The village was medium full and we found seats at the bar since there was a large, loud group in the ice cave.

In addition to the previously discussed Pumpkin Spice Colada shot, I made sure to get my all time favorite in this venue – the Disco Banana. The villagers are still making this the way it should with a special blend of funky rums, banana liqueur, and a real banana – blended. It has an anchored location on my tiki cocktail Mount Rushmore list. Meanwhile Mrs. Mai Tai had her favorite, the Coco Pandan that features an ube popsicle.

Disco Banana

The large group in the ice cave were playing some sort of game and literally twelve of them were huddled around the small table, so I never really go to see what it was that they were doing to make such a racket. And look, it’s Friday night and there’s nothing wrong with blowing off some steam. But you need to pick your venue accordingly and when you enter a darkly lit tiki bar playing vintage Les Baxter and Martin Denny exotica music, well, that’s not the place to be hollering nonstop. San Francisco has better tiki bars for that, such as Bamboo Hut, Tiki Haven, or Trad’r Sam. We left annoyed.

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Chill Vibe and Great Cocktails at Starlite

This iconic San Francisco lounge is on the 21st floor of the Sir Francis Drake Hotel, now known as Beacon Grand Hotel. Previously known as the Starlight Room, the rebranded Starlite features updated decor and a focus on classic cocktails and small bites. We’d visited before the pandemic and were impressed by the new decor, pleasantly surprised by the relaxed vibe inside with a DJ playing mid-tempo tracks and a volume that allowed for conversation. On a Friday, many patrons were dressed to impress and several large groups were enjoying the views of Union Square and high quality cocktails.

I went looking for something new and a Porn Star Martini seemed to be appropriate for this style of cocktail lounge. The Porn Star was fine I guess but compared to the other cocktails was probably the least appealing of the drinks at our table. The Pisco Punch was first created in the City and Starlite’s version is really great. We were also were impressed by the Espresso Martini riff called Colorado Bulldog that includes Mexican Coke and delightful Vanilla Cream. But the best by far in our group was a wonderful Strawberry Grasshopper served over a large minty rock.

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Pumpkin Spice Colada Scoop + Shot

We are unapologetic fans of pumpkin spice and we made sure to check out the special offering at Zombie Village where you get a scoop of frozen colada sorbet plus a side shot of pumpkin spice rum. Halloween is over but pumpkin spice season lasts at least through Thanksgiving so this fit right in for our November evening in the city.

The pumpkin spiced rum itself is rather dry, which means this is far less of a sugar bomb than you might expect. The flavors pair really well and the little spoon is helpful to savor this delightful treat. It’s great, so check it out in San Francisco while you can.

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Second Jamaican Overproof Rum Blind Shootout

We’re revisiting overproof white rum from Jamaica. When we omitted Monymusk in our last test a little birdie made sure we had a bottle. Total Wine recently started carrying a “Spirits Direct” expression from indie bottler Infinity Spirts called Kingston Queen that’s also included.

These unaged rums are issued at 63% ABV, with long fermentation creating bold flavors and a fragrance that’ll fill a room.
 
Contenders:

  • Wray & Nephew Overproof – the iconic market leader
  • Rum Fire – Hampden Estate’s funky pot still cult favorite
  • Rum Bar Overproof – Worthy Park’s previous U.S. expression that won our first shootout
  • Worthy Park Overproof – includes sugar cane juice distillate
  • Monymusk Plantation White Overproof – Pot/Column blend from Clarendon distillery
  • Kingston Queen – inexpensive Total Wine exclusive

Neat Test

Wray finished last in our previous test but somehow ranked first with a balanced flavor that included floral notes. Kingston Queen has lots of flavor reminiscent of Worthy Park rums. Rum Bar finished slightly on top of the assertive Rum Fire with Monymusk losing points for not having much of a nose. The sugar cane juice distillate in Worthy Park was less well-received this time.
 
Winner: Wray & Nephew
2nd: Kingston Queen
3rd: Rum Bar

Jamaican White Overproof Rums

Grapefruit Soda Test

A 3:1 mix with Squirt meant that the differences between these rums were harder to perceive, aside from Rum Fire. Kingston Queen finished last here and Wray finished first due to a balance of flavor and a welcome sharp bite, with Rum Bar a close second. Worthy Park took my tongue for a ride so finished just ahead of Monymusk and Rum Fire.

Winner: Wray & Nephew
2nd: Rum Bar
3rd: Worthy Park

Wray & Nephew Wins Both Blind Tests!

A shocking result given that Wray didn’t place in my first blind test, and shows these are all fairly similar and all recommended. Rum Bar again placed high in both competitions with their pot still distillate that strikes a welcome balance of flavors. For me, Rum Fire feels best for use as an accent in cocktails.

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Trader Vic’s Ofrenda

Trader Vic’s Emeryville hosted the annual Holiday Bazaar and Brunch on Sunday, and we enjoyed shopping and dining with friends.

Notable this time was a thoughtful ofrenda display that paid homage to Trader Vic as well as local legend Brian Mcdonald who recently passed. A couple Forbidden Island friends even made sure there was a little offering of coconut rum, Chiwito’s favorite.

There were a couple fall cocktails on the menu, which we tried with mixed results. I tried the La Ofrenda which featured Mexican rum, pepita syrup, and Limpia’auras Herbal Liqueur. I wanted to embrace some new flavors but this blend didn’t do it for either of us. Much better was Mrs. Mai Tai’s Marigold Path, also featuring Mexican rum plus Hot Buttered Rum Batter and a host of spices. Served hot, Marigold Path was a delightful cocktail with a ton of flavor to savor.

We’ve had a long Halloween season and I’ll admit we might have done too much but we were having too much fun while it was happening. Time to look forward to the holidays including an upcoming trip to Christmas Markets in Europe.

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Rum Negroni Halloween Special

Had a good Rum Negroni with skull ice cubes in a Tiki Goth Club glass. Not too bad to celebrate Halloween but also laying low because you have a busy weekend ahead.

I used the new Planteray Mister Fogg Mavy Rum Sail n°2. I hypothesized that this rum wouldn’t be great in cocktails and even with cutting the Campari way back the rum doesn’t really push through. Stick to Jamaican rum next time. Sail n°2 is better as a nice sipping rum.

Rum Negroni
1½ oz Sweet Vermouth
1 oz Campari
1½ oz Planteray Mister Fogg Mavy Rum Sail n°2
Stir with ice and strain over large cubes

Happy Halloween

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Planteray Mister Fogg Navy Rum Sail n°2

A new edition of Planteray’s Mister Fogg Navy Rum tribute expression has set sail and is now on the way to retailers. “Sail n°2” features different components but similarly follows the inspiration of vintage British Royal Navy rums by incorporating distillate from various producers and countries. The rum is issued at 55.7% ABV including 4.8 g/l of dosage, along with Cognac cask aging in France for a background flavor familiar to Planteray customers.

This year’s blend includes a bit of cane juice rum from Mauritius but mostly leans on a blend of pot and column still rums from Trinidad, Barbados, and Guyana. The blend spends some time in open vats along the riverside in France, intended to replicate the process employed at historic docs in London.

Planteray Mister Fogg Navy Rum Sail n°2 breakdown:
35% Trinidad: Trinidad Distillers, limited
34% Barbados: different vintages from West Indies Rum Distillery
20% Guyana: Diamond Distillery
6% Mauritius: Cane Juice rum from the St Aubin Distillery
5% Jamaica: Blend from Clarendon Distillers, Long Pond Distillery, and Hampden Distillery

Due to the ever-changing blend rums coming into the docks, each flagon of vintage Navy rum had a different character. I was unimpressed by Mister Fogg n°1 but n°2 definitely tastes more like the vintage British Navy rums I’ve tried a couple times by incorporating more smoky molasses notes. Mister Fogg is not nearly as assertive as something like Pusser’s Gunpowder Proof in this regard, however.

Mister Fogg seems better to me as sipping rum than one used for cocktails. It doesn’t drink like a 55% ABV rum, and the small amount of dosage means this is very pleasant to sip. Some of the flavors are subtle enough that you really need to taste this rum neat, though that said it does work fabulously in a rum-forward cocktail like a Mai Tai.

Thanks to the sailor from Nashville for dropping this bottle off the ship and letting it float to California.