Category: Rum

Posted on

Hamilton Rum: Beachbum Berry’s Zombie Blend

Not just for Zombies. It makes an excellent Mai Tai too!

This new rum blend is a 118 proof delight, so aromatic and flavorful. With this kind of ABV it isn’t a sipper for most people, but inside a Mai Tai it really punches through and coats your tongue. Of course, our house Mai Tai rum blend is over 100 proof, so we’re used to boozy Mai Tais. But we think anyone will find this rum to be amazing in a Mai Tai.

The Mai Tai is best prepared with Latitude 29 Orgeat from Orgeat Works, a house favorite of the Bum himself who helped develop it. It is our favorite orgeat.

Not a bad choice Mai Tai Monday.

The Zombie blend is rolling out now and is available in many states with more to come. Bottles are going fast but Ed Hamilton says this product is here to stay and that more is in the pipeline.

And, yes, it does make an excellent Zombie.

Posted on

Cocktails at The Kon-Tiki Room

After dinner at Palmetto, we walked around over to The Kon-Tiki Room for more cocktails. It was a fun vibe and the bartenders were so helpful at working with us on our orders.

I had a fantastic Fogcutter and then asked for Mai Tai made with the aged rum Clairin from Saint Benevolence. While the spirits selection at The Kon-Tiki Room is not as vast as the original Kon-Tiki location at 14th and Webster, they do have some interesting expressions and the bartenders were accommodating to use an alternative spirit in one of their standard cocktails. A little extra orgeat and the Clairin Mai Tai was very good and a nice change of pace.

We were bummed the frozen Disco Banana wasn’t quite ready when we got there around 6:30. That was the only glitch during our Kon-Tiki Room visit. The checking of vaccination status and the requirements for masks when not drinking was not problem during our visit.

Posted on

Pro tip: save old corks

We almost had a big problem when I couldn’t open my bottle of beloved Saint Benevolence Rum Clairin, and then broke the cork!

Thankfully, I was able to extract the remaining cork using a wine corkscrew. And then I used a cork from an old empty bottle.

The Saint Benevolence Rum Clairin is a delicious and savory rum that is different than the pot still rums from Jamaica or Barbados, but also not the same as rhums from Martinique. It is heavy, but not grassy. Super flavorful even in a Mai Tai. Seek it out.

Posted on

Old Appleton 12

Got to try some of this 1980s vintage Appleton 12 recently. Thanks so much to local tikiphile Kyle Graham for sharing a little pour.

You know what it tastes like? It tastes like Appleton 12.

I don’t say that to sound flippant, but to say that the taste of Appleton 12 hasn’t changed a whole lot for a long, long time. This old one tasted a little richer, and had a little bit of a longer finish. But honestly it was very close to what you get today and the last three vintages that I have in stock at home. So easy to drink but still very flavorful. It’s my favorite rum.

Posted on

Blue Monday?

Have you got a case of the Mondays? Improve your spirit on #MaiTaiMonday by making a Blue Hawai-Tai, the love child of the Mai Tai and the Blue Hawaii cocktails.

Blue Hawai-Tai by Kevin Crossman
1 oz Lemon Juice
½ oz Orgeat
½ oz Simple Syrup
½ oz Blue Curacao
1 oz White Overproof Jamaican (Rum Fire)
½ oz Aged White Rum (Probitas)

Posted on

Monymusk Special Reserve Rum

I got to taste several of the Monymusk rums recently and decided to pick up a bottle of this blended rum with a minimum age of 10 years. Only about $35, though this isn’t as widely available as Appleton or Myers’s. 

But it is worth seeking out as it has a delicious rich flavor with a hint of spice and only a hint of Jamaican funk. At 40% ABV it is designed for easy sipping or as a mixer in cocktails. This is more akin to Appleton 12 than Smith & Cross, and makes a delicious Mai Tai or Planter’s Punch.