Category: Rum

Posted on

Rum-Bar Overproof

Regular readers know I love Jamaican rum, and one of my favorite styles is the unaged white overproof. Wray & Nephew Overproof is the affordable standard bearer for this style of rum, but I do prefer when this type is 100% pot still distilled and featuring a heavier body. “Overproof” because it is issued at 63% ABV.

Rum-Bar Overproof from Worthy Park Estate is such an entrant, and I recent obtained a new replacement bottle so I’d be sure to have some on hand at home. It is an intense and fragrant rum that fills the room with a wonderful fruity scent. It also tastes great – closer to Rum Fire than Wray in flavor profile and overall mouthfeel. It is an intense flavor.

I enjoy this type of rum with grapefruit soda, especially the Ting soda from Jamaica if you can find it. I also find that Squirt works well enough and is much more available. I’ve also used this cocktails such as my Blue Hawai-Tai or even as a half or full ounce of White Overproof rum in a Mai Tai alongside something more refined.

Posted on

Paranubes Anejo Aguardiente de Caña

I received a gift card to Bitters & Bottles and picked up this aged cane spirit from Mexico. 

Such interesting flavors. You can taste the Olive-like cane juice source in this rum, but the spiced aging notes from new American oak barrels gives this a bit of a Scotch-like taste. You can definitely savor this spirit, bottled at 53.8% ABV.

Posted on

Off-Menu Mai Tai at Golden Pineapple Craft Lounge

This restaurant and craft cocktail bar was recommended from a friend, and we decided to pop over for dinner last weekend at Arizona Tiki Oasis. Located past Tempe’s vibrant downtown, The Golden Pineapple would be easy to miss on a suburban boulevard, but definitely has the goods on the inside. We really enjoyed the food, including Navajo Fried Bread. My delicious Aloha Burger was made with a brisket patty and topped with coleslaw and teriyaki aioli.

There’s a large menu of craft cocktail options here, including many with rums you don’t normally see. Mrs. Mai Tai ordered the Surfer on Acid that has Mexican and Barbados Rums, Amaro Montenegro, Kalani Coconut Liqueur, Pineapple, Lime, and Angostura Bitters. A great combination of flavors and it is topped with a fun Jägermeister Jello mold. Very memorable.

Seeing that the venue has an extensive rum selection, I took a chance and asked the waitress to ask the bartender if they could make a 1944 Mai Tai. When she asked what was in it, I said to just ask the bartender if and they know then that’s what I’d like and if they didn’t then that was fine and I offered an on-menu substitute.

I’m sure that Mrs. Mai Tai is sick of these menu subs, but this was one those occasions where it truly was worth it, because the off-menu Mai Tai was fantastic! The bartender chose a bold Jamaican rum for the cocktail, which I found out later when the bill game was the Holmes Cay Jamaica Wedderburn 2011 Single Cask. This cask-strength rum comes from the Clarendon Distillery and is aged in Jamaica for three years, and then an additional seven in the U.K. It is great stuff, and was an excellent choice by the bartender to use a bold, flavorful Jamaican rum. And not much of an upcharge for the premium rum either.

Thank you Golden Pineapple for an amazing Mai Tai. Definitely one of the Top 10 Mai Tais so far in 2022.

Posted on

Appleton 17 Legend Jamaican Rum

Biiiig news, Mai Tai fans. Appleton Estate is coming out with a new rum expression aged 17 years, intended as a “re-creation of the legendary rum crafted by J. Wray & Nephew in the 1940s” that “inspired the bartending world.” No specific mention of Trader Vic Bergeron or his most famous creation, the 1944 Mai Tai, but we all know what they’re hinting at.

Take my money!

I’ve often wondered why Appleton didn’t try to tap into the nostalgia of Mai Tai fans worldwide and release a 17 year expression to match the Wray & Nephew rum used in the original Mai Tai. After rebranding their standard issue product line in 2020 and issuing mainstream and widely available 15 year and 21 year old expressions last year, plans for the 17 year expression are now public. Thanks to Cocktail Wonk Matt Pietrek for sharing the TTB filing.

A few facts:

  • Minimum aged 17 years in the tropics
  • 49% ABV
  • 1500 bottles total

Since this is a 750ml bottle, this is most likely the allocation for the United States. No specific details are shown regarding the blend, and “100% Pot Still” is not indicated on the bottle as you’d expect if it were so.

But, surely the pot still component is greater in this expression than it is for Appleton’s mainstream rum products, if this is to be a “faithful re-creation of the original.” Having tried the very limited release of the 25 year old Appleton 1995 that’s 100% Pot Still I can tell you that those Appleton pot stills are quite effective at producing amazing distillate, and makes an amazing Mai Tai. 

Stay tuned for further developments.

2023 Release Details

See our post with release details of Appleton Estate 17 Year Old Legend

 

Posted on

Best Mai Tai of AZ Tiki Oasis

Not a lot of Mai Tais on premises but I had an amazing Mai Tai at the seminar “Rum, the Spirit of Hawai’i: Crafting tiki cocktails with island style rum with Gabrielle Maser.” See the recipe in photo 2.



The Mai Tai really highlighted the savory notes from the Kuleana Hawaiian Rum Agricole that goes into the Hui Hui blend. The rich MacNut Orgeat added a nice taste and some rich mouthfeel.

The seminar was a great opportunity to see how some various producers are approaching spirits production in Hawai’i. I have definitely enjoyed Kuleana’s rums and dug the gin from Kupu spirits, sampled here as well.

One of the best Mai Tais I’ve had this year.

Straw from @surfsidesips

Posted on

Great (House) Mai Tai at The Kon-Tiki

Had a great time last night for Ohana night at The Kon-Tiki in Oakland. The staff was really humming along, even after the place even got a little crowded (that’s a good thing). Bartender Kris even put on a fabulous flame show over a couple Jet Pilots (sadly I did not document). It was really impressive.

Besides the Kon-Tiki’s always amazing cheeseburger, I tried the Happy Hour Saturn that was quite tangy. Total bargain, with a great gin finish.

The Kon-Tiki’s vast rum selection offers so many options. This time I opted for the Hampden 2021 Great House Jamaican rum in a Mai Tai and it was totally fantastic.

Posted on

Dr. Funk Mai Tai with Denizen Vatted Dark Rum

Denizen Merchant’s Reserve rum has a well-earned reputation for being a great single-bottle Mai Tai rum. It’s a blend of aged Jamaican rum along with some molasses-based rum from Martinique, intended to reproduce the rum used in Trader Vic’s “Second Adjusted Formula” from the 1950s.

While at Dr. Funk I thought I’d give their excellent Mai Tai a try with Denizen’s more recent blended rum product, the Vatted Dark. This is a 100 proof blend of Demerara Rum from Guyana along with unaged Rhum Agricole from Martinique. The complex and savory notes work well in a Mai Tai and other cocktails, and the Dr. Funk version delivered.

I also tried the chicken skewers that have a wonderful ginger glaze. These were quite tasty and served alongside seasoned rice. A very good portion for the price.