Category: Rum

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Thatch Roof Cocktail at Legends Bay Casino

The new Legends Bay Casino is right across from our hotel in Sparks, so we went over to try some cocktails. There’s a bar with food trucks and a great selection of beer, but we went into the elegant bar at Duke’s Steak House. Our service from the bartender here was outstanding.

There’s a good selection of cocktails here, and the team can make classics not on the menu (I ordered a Sidecar). Mrs. Mai Tai immediately spotted the coconut rum drink called Thatch Roof, and this was an excellent choice. The Thatch Roof cocktail has Kasama Small Batch Rum (from the Philippines), ginger, coconut cream, lime, and soda. The blend of coconut and ginger worked great, and the soda and lime gave it a lightness. It was fantastic.

Kasama is a rum brand that I wasn’t familiar with, so I got a little pour of the rum for the second round. I don’t think the “small batch rum” label is quite accurate since research indicates there are big bucks and industry vets behind this brand (see also: Tito’s “Handmade” Vodka). The column-still rum is heavily dosed with sugar and added flavors, so this isn’t really a rum to sip neat. But I can’t complain at all about the flavorful Thatch Roof cocktail.

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Golden Devil New Yarnmouth Single Cask 26 yr Jamaican Rum

Thanks to rum mensch Cory Schoolland for turning me on to this limited release of a rum that’s typically unusual to find on the market. You see, New Yarnmouth is one of the two distilleries owned by the J. Wray & Nephew (you might have heard of the other distillery, Appleton). It’s where they produce the famed Wray & Nephew Overproof, but aged rums from here are basically unheard of.

But K&L Wines was selling this Golden Devil release and after Cory gave me a sample to try I thought that I’d be remiss about not obtaining a bottle before it goes away forever.

This rum was distilled in November 1994 and aged for 26 years. There’s no specific documentation on the location of the aging, though deduction indicates the majority was probably in Europe. The rum has plenty of aging notes, but not so much that this age would indicate compared to rums aged completely in the tropics.

There’s no clear marque either, though this is what I’d characterize as a medium ester Jamaican rum. Plenty funky for the average spirits drinker, but for sure not anywhere as a high as you see from other local distilleries. There aren’t notes about the still type, but I’d guess column still just based on the relative lightness of the body.

There’s plenty of flavor here. The ABV is 66.3% so it is a truly a full strength cask strength release. There are amazing lingering flavors that your tongue continues to get notes from for what seem like minutes. Little sips provide a deeply satisfying tasting experience. If you love Jamaican rum this fits right in. The slightly lighter body would be comparable to Appleton, if they issued at cask strength (which they don’t). It’s astonishing.

K&L still has a few of these for sale at the SF store or via mail order. Price is less than you’d expect for a 26 year rum from a distillery that literally doesn’t issue long-aged rums. Below the Mendoza line, baseball fans.

More info: Jamaican Rum Distillery Cheat Sheet (Cocktail Wonk)

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Kuleana Rum Works Hōkūlei

The latest blended rum release for Kuleana Rum Works will appeal to those who love barrel notes in their rum. This rum combines distillate from six countries, including a unique aged version of Kuleana’s Hawaiian Rum Agricole. Issued at 46% ABV, this is reminiscent of quality Barbados rums but with a slightly lighter overall character. No added colors, flavors, or sweeteners.

As noted there is a complex and interesting set of seven rums in this bottle:

  • Base rums: Molasses rums from Panama, Nicaragua, Barbados, and Venezuela and aged 2-3, 3-8, 5-8, and 8 years respectively.

  • Body rums: Kuleana’s Hawaiian Rum Agricole made from sugar cane juice and aged 18 months in Cognac barrels, plus a 15 year molasses-based rum from Barbados.

  • Accent rum: Molasses-based rum from Trinidad, aged 18 years.

I can’t say that the Hawaiian Rum Agricole hits me over the head, and honestly I’d love to try some of that just by itself. But overall, Hōkūlei is a really great sipping rum with great spice and oak notes.

In a Mai Tai, Hōkūlei doesn’t really punch through in the assertive way that Kuleana’s Hawaiian Rum Agricole does, though there’s plenty of general rummy flavor. On the other hand, this rum shines in a Daiquiri where you can taste those same spice and oak flavors alongside the brightness of the lime and sugar.

Hōkūlei retails for around $70-80 and is just coming to market this year. You can order from Kuleana’s website as well.

The bottle was provided by Kuleana but this is not a sponsored post.

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Recipe: Blue Hawaii (Modified)

Went out to dinner last night in the Bay Area suburbs. Lazy Dog Restaurant has a “Blue Hawaiian” on the menu that’s pretty close to Harry Yee’s original blue cocktail. Pineapple, Sweet & Sour, Rum, Vodka – and OJ. It came out really green but the taste was just fine.

At home I made one with a modified recipe that was even better.

Blue Hawaii (Modified)
½ oz Lemon Juice
2 oz Pineapple Juice
½ oz Simple Syrup
½ oz Blue Curacao
1½ oz White Rum Blend
Shake with crushed ice.

My white rum blend is made from almost empty bottles of Denizen 3, Wray & Nephew Overproof, Myers’s White, and Three Rolls Estate. So a bit more flavorful than your standard Puerto Rican White. And way better than Vodka.

I used Giffard Blue Curacao. For this drink, I think adding another half ounce of Blue Curacao for a float would look nicer and add a bit more sweetness to the cocktail.

Note that Harry Lee celebrated his 104th birthday this week. You can read an essay about Yee from Hawaiian journalist Rick Carrol, circa late 1990s, on this website.

“Blue Hawaiian” from Lazy Dog
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Kuleana Rum Works Huihui and Nanea

Huihui and Nanea from Kuleana Rum Works are blended rums made from distillate mostly sourced outside Hawai’i. These are semi-premium ($30-40) rums and are a best fit in cocktails.

Nanea is blend of column still molasses-based rums, aged between 2-4 years in ex-Bourbon barrels, giving this a completely different flavor profile that Kuleana’s signature Hawaiian Rum Agricole. The base rum is from Guatemala and aged two years. The “body” rum is from Guadeloupe and aged three years. The “accent” rum is from El Salvador and aged for four years. This is a very pleasant rum to sip, and the 43% ABV gives this a little extra flavor to savor. The column stills give this a light body featuring spice notes.

Huihui is a similar blend of three rums, all unaged and issued at 40% ABV. The base rum molasses-based rum from Papua New Guinea, with the “accent” rum being cane-juice based rhum from Martinique. The “body” rum is Kuleana’s own Hawaiian Rum Agricole, but Kuleana does not break down the percentages.

I’d had Huihui before and rated it 4/5 stars on my Forbidden Island Kill Devil Club rum list, but honestly this didn’t resonate with me as much this time. I think the grassy notes from the Martinique rum are a bit overpowering, even with this just being an accent. Moreover, it sort of overshadows the Hawaiian Rum Agricole that I find much more pleasant. It didn’t work for me in a daiquiri, either. Nice to see some of Kuleana’s own product in the blend, though. 

Tasting these rums in a Mai Tai it should not surprise anyone that the aged Nanea is a better fit than the Huihui. Even with a lighter body, the vanilla and spice notes from Nanea do work well in a Mai Tai that I totally enjoyed. I’d expect Nanea would work very well in any cocktail calling for a gold rum generally or something like a Barbados rum specifically.

The bottles were provided by Kuleana but this is not a sponsored post.

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Kuleana Rum Works Hawaiian Rum Agricole

The production of rum made from native Hawaiian sugar cane has been growing over the past decade. Whereas O’ahu’s KōHana is experimenting with a variety of cane varietals and release types, Kuleana Rum Works on the island of Hawai’i is taking a different approach.

Kuleana’s seminal product is Hawaiian Rum Agricole, a 40% ABV unaged rum made from sugar cane juice produced on the Big Island and distilled in a copper pot still. There are noticeable savory flavors common to other cane juice-based rums, but this product doesn’t have the “grassy” overtones that are sometimes objectionable to consumers and to this author. I taste a mix of green apple, olive, and banana flavors. It’s a crisp rum that works great in a glass by itself, but the bold flavors are superb in cocktails like the Mai Tai too.

This is a blended product designed to have a consistent taste over time, so there aren’t any specs on the specific blend of cane varietals or a harvest date. You can expect bottles you purchase in the future to taste similar. Kuleana products are available in many states including Total Wine locations, and available directly from Kuleana’s website. Hawaiian Rum Agricole run around $50-65 per 750 ml bottle.

Kuleana’s other rum products include distillate sourced from other countries and bottled in combination with the Hawaiian Rum Agricole. We’ll have more to say about those other expressions in the coming days.

The bottle was provided by Kuleana but this is not a sponsored post.

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El Dorado Single Still Port Mourant Cask Strength

It is so great to see El Dorado offering some of their seminal pot still products in a single still format. Long known for being the secret ingredient in many blended Demerara rums, Port Mourant is a wooden pot still constructed in 1732! And it is still making fabulous rum.

I would say that if you’ve had the pot still releases from Mount Gay or Appleton that this is somewhat more approachable, even at 56.7% ABV. This is not quite as heavy as those other releases, and the flavor isn’t as intense. Nonetheless, this 12 year aged rum will knock the socks off most rum lovers and for sure will impress any rum newbie. You can really savor every sip.

As is the practice at Ultimate Mai Tai headquarters, we tried this rum in a standard 1944 Mai Tai. So delicious. The Mai Tai really shines when there’s a heavy, higher proof rum in the glass, and so this El Dorado was really excellent. The pot still flavors still shine through, even in a cocktail format.

The 750ml bottle runs anywhere from $125-150, alongside the Versailles and Enmore still releases that are also reaching the market right now. Check them out at your favorite liquor outlet or at finer bars with great rum collections.

El Dorado Single Still Rums