Category: Rum

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New Mount Gay XO Rum

Because all the cool people are tweaking their rum formulas and changing the labels… Mount Gay is on the trend too. I am not a fan of their smoky Black Barrel expression, but I do have the XO aged expression so I thought I’d give the new XO blend a try. Instead of it being a “Reserve Cask Rum” (pictured, right) it is now a “Triple Cask Blend.” Noteworthy the presence of Mount Gay Master Blender Trudiann Branker on the label.

The new XO is slightly bolder and heavier than the predecessor, but is not radically different. This is a very good aged Barbados rum, suitable for sipping but also for cocktails when a premium spirit is called for (ahem, 1944 Mai Tai). Slightly more of the baked fig taste at least to me. Casks are from American Whiskey, Bourbon, and Cognac barrels.

If you’re looking to go a bit upscale in the Aged Barbarbadian Rum category, but the prices of Foursquare Exceptional Casks scare you off, consider Mount Gay XO. It’s widely available and in the ~$40-50 price range.

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New Cocktail Recipe: A Clown Got Us into This

Delicious new cocktail for lockdown weekend

This recipe comes from Bay Area Tikiphile Rodney Stanton, who shared it during Thursday’s “South SF Bay Ohana” online meetup (hit me up on Facebook to get access to the group). The hero ingredient is the BG Reynolds Circus Peanut Syrup, and it’s delicious here when paired with the banana notes from the liqueur and the overrproof Jamaican rum.

A Clown Got Us into This
1½ oz Lime Juice
1½ oz Kuleana Rum Works Nanea
½ oz Overproof Jamaican Rum
½ oz Creme de Banana
¾ oz BG Reynolds Circus Peanut Syrup
⅛ oz Grenadine
2 Dashes Orange Bitters

The Nanea is from the Hawaiian brand Kuleana, but is actually a blend of lightly aged rums from the Caribbean. I don’t have the Nanea, or any rums from Central America, so I used Plantation 3 Star as a substitute. For the Overproof Jamaican I used Rum-Bar Overproof. I used Tempus Fugit for the banana liqueur.

It’s delicious! Glassware by B-Rex.

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Trader Vic’s Mai Tai Concentrate

Available for the first time ever from the Trader Vic’s online store, I had to get this. Back in 1998 I had a bottle of this gifted to me, and I loved Mai Tais made with it.  Opening it today, the fragrance of this mix is the same as I remembered. The Concentrate basically replaces the Orange Curacao, Orgeat, and Rock Candy syrup in a 1944 Mai Tai. So, you supply the 1 ounce of Lime Juice and 2 ounces of Rum. Note that this is very different from the Mai Tai mix you normally find in retail stores.

In year’s past this was what made the standard “Trader Vic’s Mai Tai” at the Emeryville location, and is still used for large batches and at high volume events. It is also used in other cocktails such as the Mai Tai variants Menehune Juice and Pinky Gonzales, Tiki Grog, and the Drum of Ku.

My Mai Tai is made with Hamilton New York Blend, a blend with rums from Jamaican and Guyana. This was my last pour of this very nice rum (now known as the 1670 West Indies Blend). The Mai Tai with the Trader Vic’s Mai Tai Concentrate is pretty good. The recipe calls for ¾ oz, but I’d up it to a full ounce next time. The cocktail isn’t as good as a scratch Mai Tai, but this is an affordable value for those who don’t normally get to try Mai Tais made with this at the Trader Vic’s restaurants. It definitely would be great to use in a Mai Tai punch for a party.

Trader Vic’s is running a 20% off sale this weekend, just use promo code “MAY20” at checkout.

Thank you Trader Vic’s for making this available for purchase for the first time outside of an industry setting.

Trader Vic’s Mai Tai Concentrate Mai Tai
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New Appleton 12

Appleton Estate 12 Year Old Rum has been my favored rum for a 1 rum Mai Tai for a while now. Previously known as “Rare Blend,” it’s now called “Rare Casks” as part of the new label and bottle style that is moving across all three of the mainstream Appleton rum brands (Signature, Reserve 8, and 12 Rare). While the Reserve 8 is a assuredly a new blend (the ABV goes from 40 to 43), supposedly the 12 is not changing. But I heard from some people online that it was different.

In the Mai Tai: I prepared two Mai Tais identical except for the rum. I could not taste the difference.

In the glass: tasting the two rums neat, I do taste a slight difference. The older Rare Blend has more of an oak barrel taste, whereas the Rare Casks does have a hint more of a Jamaican funk present. Very slight differences. It’s still a great rum that’s available widely for a very good price ($33 at Costco, mid-$40s at fine liquor stores). Go out and get it.

The new bottle takes up a bit less surface area in my liquor cabinet, and now features a cork (!). It still features the gold and black color scheme and now more prominently displays the signature of master blender Joy Spence. I’m totally liking this new bottle style.